Offered by Michael A. Dolan – Dolan & Associates, P.C.
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 were good parents, and their son John turned out to be a great person but a poor money manager. John grew up, got married, completed college, and had a good job. But John spent every dime he earned, often before he ever earned it. John had to have the latest things, and thought using a credit card to get them was a better approach than saving for them. If John got a dollar he spent two.
Bill and Mary sought legal advice before their deaths. The first lawyer they spoke with said they did not need estate planning because their estate was worth less than the estate tax exemption. He told them to put everything in joint tenancy 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 from squandering his inheritance after their deaths. Therefore, Bill and Mary left their assets in trust for John, not directly to him. As a result, John could not spend his inheritance as soon as he got it. They designed a system to help John learn how to properly manage his inheritance so it could support him for the rest of his life.
Bill and Mary had sometimes wondered if the planning they did was worth the extra time and effort. Clearly it was.
For more information on estate planning that works for you, visit on-line at: www.EstatePlansThatWork.com and sign up for a complementary educational workshop.
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