When I worked at Best Buy, one of the 5 safety steps was “use the right tool.” Pretty harmless and common sense, but you’d be surprised the things that would be MacGyvered up to get something done. Well this same rule applies when you want to get things done, specifically your estate. I know I’m on shaky ground when I refer to a person as a tool (ok, go ahead and laugh now to get it out of your system) but hear me out.
I’m going to draw from my family’s experience with estate planning, more specifically creating a will. When my grandfather wanted to create a will, he went the “easy” route and used a lawyer that he used all the time for MDU in North Dakota. Now this lawyer did wonders with oil and gas law since MDU was a utilities company, so he can make an easy basic Will, right? I mean it should be pretty simple and straight forward. WRONG. Lawyers have specialties for a reason. When my grandfather passed away he left a Trust to his heirs; his children and their spouses. HOWEVER, his wife was not mentioned in the will. Not because of some dramatic reason, but because she had been in a coma for 20+ years. No one imagined that he would die before she did. When you’re an attorney, you should not take these assumptions when drafting a will and need to make sure it is drafted properly to account for whomever may die first. Luckily for our sanity my grandmother had no living relatives to claim the inheritance when she died 2 weeks later. So that was a happier ending to a case that could have easily turned rotten quick.
My grandfather did not have the right tool (still debating if the pun is intended here) to draft his will. Recently in the news Etta James hadn’t sought out the right tools to create a proper estate. Forbes has a great article that you should read here. Another one that comes to mind is the author of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Have you heard of that book (now movie)? I hope so. Stieg Larsson’s last known updated Will was from 1977. He died in 2004. Why would does it matter now, 7 years later? Given the MASSIVE popularity of the books, his estate is in a position to make a LARGE sum of money, but who does it go to? Who owns the rights? His dedicated partner of 20+ years, Eva, or his father & brother? The last updated will is vague on this point. Blood gets the inheritance while the longtime partner gets his manuscripts. Since the manuscripts were published after death, that seems to be a clear cut case for Eva, but if things were simple we wouldn’t need lawyers and wills. It’s a very interesting case, probably worth writing a novel about, but currently there is no ending. It’s just another example of why you should hire the right person for the job.
If you’re in the market for a great lawyer that does estate planning I would strongly recommend Sarah Thacker of Thacker Law Firm. I can’t say enough good things about her and how she helps her clients. She makes sure that not only do you understand the will but anyone reading the will understands it. No “where to,” “here unto,” etc. A well written will that people without a law degree can understand. Imagine that!
Do you have a will? If you don’t, make sure not to post it here because that means you have a target on your back and I’ll bug you until you do. If you do, is it up to date and can anyone that picks it up understand it? Let me know your thoughts!
Until next time my wonderful readers!
– Financial Landscaper
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