Estate Planning Mistakes

Yes, this happens!  Communication with your Austin estate planning attorney is essential to avoid mistakes in your estate plan.  Sometimes things get overlooked or forgotten when you have a consultation with an attorney for estate planning.  Here are some common mistakes:

No plan
The biggest mistake is simply no plan at all.  “We want a plan but just do not have time.” Then before you know it, it is too late. It is easy to delay making time for this, but your estate plan is truly one of the most important decisions you can make for your family. 

Who do you want to receive your house when you pass away?  Are there beneficiaries designated on your bank accounts, IRAs, life insurance and/or 401k?

Avoiding discussion

Whether you have documents in place or not, it is crucial that your family knows what your wishes are.  If you avoid the topic, this leads to contested probates and your family fighting over who gets what.  Set aside a few minutes to just say “Hey, when I die, this is what I want to happen.”

Not updating your plan

You have a will and/or incapacity documents but they are 10 years old, 20 years old or even older.  Do they need to be updated? YES!  Your property changes over time. Children get older, get married, and have their own children.  A plan is better than no plan, but it should be updated at least every 5 years.

Complicated planning

You have season tickets to the UT Longhorns that you want to stay in the family. You want them to go to your child; then your niece if your child doesn’t want it; then your niece’s friend’s brother, then sold on a forum and the funds given to UT. We can create this language for you; however, it is possible in 3 years that you do not have those tickets anymore.  We recommend a general clause for these types of things and leave specific items to things such as real property or something you have inherited.

Trust does not get funded

When we create a trust for you, we prepare so that it has options for funding the day it is signed.  We prepare a deed for your real property to transfer into the trust. We also prepare beneficiary designations for your IRAs, 401k and life insurance.  Our estate planning lawyer in Austin drafts your will to transfer all of your property into the trust to limit, and hopefully avoid, reasons for going through probate.

Funeral, Cremation and all those arrangements

Make sure that your family knows your wishes, whether you want to be cremated, buried in a certain plot, turned into a diamond or come back as a tree. Putting your wishes in writing relieves the burden from your family of making this decision for you.

Keeping Originals in a Safe Place

Sure, Boomers use safe deposit boxes.  Next Gen, you could do the same thing!  The disadvantage to a safe deposit box is that sometimes your family has difficulty accessing it. We recommend a fireproof safe at home.   

Do estate planning attorneys keep documents? We keep digital copies, but not originals. Why?  Because we have found over time, family members do not remember the name of the firm their loved one used.

Is there something missing from your estate plan? Contact our estate planning law firm so we can fix it!