Estate planning is more than avoiding probate and saving taxes. A properly designed estate plan can provide so much more to protect your family. Most of these protections are ignored in cookie-cutter, form driven estate plans. For example…

Mary and Bill left their son John a substantial inheritance. John had grown up, married, completed college, and had a good job. Then came the accident. As John was rushing to work on a wintery morning, he lost control of his car and crashed into a school bus. Children were injured. John was sued and found negligent. The resulting claim far exceeded his auto insurance limits, and even after the insurance paid $1,000,000 to those injured, he was staring at a court judgment of more than $2,000,000. His assets would be seized to pay the amount due. John was looking at bankruptcy. Then he remembered the good news.

Bill and Mary had sought legal advice. The first lawyer they spoke with said they did not need estate planning because their estate value was below the estate tax exemption. He told them to designate John as the beneficiary on all the assets, because “it is simple and avoids probate.” They weren’t comfortable with that advice, and sought advice from a counseling oriented attorney who took the time to learn more about them, their estate, and their goals.

Their primary objective was to protect John after their deaths, so Bill and Mary left their assets in trust for John, not directly to him. As a result, John was able to keep his inheritance. While they never thought this would happen to their son, their foresight was now going to pay off.

Bill and Mary had sometimes wondered if the planning they did was worth the extra time and effort. Clearly it was.

If you would like to learn more about an estate planning process that is producing great results for families, visit www.EstatePlansThatWork.com to sign up for a complimentary educational workshop.