What You Don't Know Can Destroy Your Estate Plan
And if YOU don't know, you can't tell your lawyer!
Mary thought she did everything right. She had a Will. She had a Trust. She had excellent lawyers do a great job.
Her kids lost $350,000 anyway.
Because she made a move (and it was smart money move!) without knowing she was breaking her Estate Plan.
If she knew better, she would have done better.
She didn't know better.
You can.
When you know better, you can do better.
It was was a common offer among Estate Attorneys: Documents plus unlimited free revisions for a period of time. The problem was some people came back again and again.
The record? 12 revisions in 12 weeks. One mother came back literally every single week the change deal was available asking for a revision. While I did everything for her that she asked the first time, she talked to more people as she went along.
She found out that someone who had always agreed to take her children if she died balked when it was going to be officially in writing. That was only the first thing... and many more would follow. The law and documents were easy. The human part was hard!
You Must KNOW Better to DO Better
Whether you’re talking about a Will or Trust, what you don't know and don't do can destroy an Estate Plan.
The first time I saw an Estate with good documents get messed up because of very human mistake, I thought it would be a rarity.
In the more than 30 years since, the things people don't know have been responsible for 90% of the problems that have come to me.
That's what I Love Them Enough is here to solve. It's what YOU need to know!
I used to think that Estates with millions of dollars and good lawyers would be done well and go smoothly.
Turns out, I was wrong. Millionsiares and even at least one billionaire's estate I counsulted on were a mess...
100% Liable
Unknown to a lot of Trustees and Executors, if they make certain mistakes, they can be held 100% liable by the IRS even if they had no way to know...
Consequences
If we give too much money too soon, we create problems. We like to think by a certain age, they'll be ready. But... not always!
$1 Billion+
The largest Estate on which I consulted was over a billion dollars. It was a mess... and ended in disaster. By the time they came to me, it was already too late.
Disasters Happen when you don't know what you don't know
Disasters have struck many families because things did not go according to plan... or things were not known that needed to be known.
A Trustee didn't know she would be held personally responsible by the IRS for any unpaid taxes - EVEN IF she didn't know!
A beneficiary who was a drug addict managed to avoid overdose because she could never afford enough drugs at one time... but then she inherited $20,000...
He MEANT to leave his loving step-daughter his home and retirement after she took care of him for years. Because of a 90 second oversight, she ended up homeless and broke.
"I love them enough to make sure I get this right."
You're leaving them assets... or are you?
Mark thought he was leaving Ken a multimillion dollar business. Instead, he left a panicked son in WAY over his head...
The Law is The Law
No matter what our intentions might be... EVEN IF everyone KNOWS what our intentions are... the LAW will control what happens to what we leave behind. I
The Paperwork
Having good paperwork is important. Make sure you have it... and make sure it's up to date! Imagine finding out the Will you put together with your ex 20 years ago controls everything!
Ready for People
It's obvious once said. People are who people are, and people know what people know. Are they ready for the inheritance? Is the Trustee or Executor ready? Can we help?
Warren Buffet
“Give your kids enough so they can do anything, but not so much that they'll do nothing.” —Warren Buffett
Scot Conway
“The biggest wealth transfer disaster in human history is happening because of all the things we did not know we needed to do.” —Scot Conway
Robert Kiyosaki
“It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.” —Robert Kiyosaki
