Don’t Pull a “Prince” (Is Your Estate Plan In Order ?)

The recent death of the iconic pop singer Prince has put a focus not only on the performer and his music but also on the need for estate planning. As you may have read, Prince died without a Will; i.e. intestate. What this means, from a practical standpoint, is that his estate will be administered, and his property divided, pursuant to the laws of intestate succession of the state of Minnesota, where he resided. Hopefully, his estate can be settled fairly quickly without a lot of fighting; don’t hold your breath.

Prince’s death, at age 57, was very much unexpected. However, no one knows when tragedy may strike. That being said, do you know where your “stuff” will go when you are gone? Do you have a Will or Trust Agreement? Did you know that over 60% of adult Americans die intestate; i. e. without a Will or Trust Agreement in place? (Probably the most famous was Abraham Lincoln, and he was a lawyer! Others include Martin Luther King, Jr., Howard Hughes, Pablo Picasso, Sonny Bono and Jimi Hendrix).

What about your kids; have you named someone to act as their guardian and/or conservator, to raise them and attend to their financial needs if you and your spouse are both gone? Do you want the Probate Court to make that decision for you? (It will have to if you do not leave a surviving spouse and you have not named someone to fill those roles).

What happens if you are in an accident or have to go into the hospital for some medical procedure and cannot make certain medical decisions for yourself? Have you nominated someone (called a Patient Advocate) to make those decisions for you and indicated the degree of care you desire?

What if you are in the hospital or away on a trip and a need arises to take care of some financial matter, like closing on a real estate sale, filing tax returns, handling some stock transfer or banking transaction? Do you have a power of attorney in place that will enable someone to handle such financial transactions for you?

Have you thought about cremation versus burial? Have you given some direction to your loved ones as to what is to be done with your remains? Have you nominated someone to act as a Funeral Representative to deal with these issues, the funeral home and the cemetery?

What are the advantages of a Trust versus a Will? What happens if you die without a will – who decides where your property will go? What is probate, how long does it take and is it expensive? What about alternative estate planning devises, such as putting property into joint ownership; placing the kids names on your bank accounts; or signing a deed to your property and putting it away until you are gone (the so-called “deed in the drawer”). What is a Lady Bird Deed and what benefits does it have in signing such an instrument? What is portability and how does it help minimize estate taxes liability? What is real property tax uncapping when property is sold and does it apply if property is transferred to certain relatives?

Don’t you think you owe it to yourself and your family to properly take care of these things before it is too late? Just because you can’t take it with you does not mean that you should leave things in a mess for others to clean up. As the old kindergarten rule states: You make a mess, you clean it up.

Don’t be like the bulk of Americans who die without a Will. You have worked hard to get where you are – make sure that you control your end of life decisions and your property goes where you desire, not what some court may decide. Contact us if you would like to discuss putting together an estate plan that meets with your desires.