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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Gratia Schoemakers
      • Community Outreach Program
    • Testimonials
  • Virtual Services
  • Estate Planning
    • Estate Planning Basics
    • Last Will and Testament
    • Revocable Living Trusts
    • Durable Power of Attorney
    • Medical Power of Attorney
    • Living Will
    • Family Estate Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning & Asset Protection
    • Kids Safety Plan™
    • Business Succession Planning
    • Guardianship
      • Guardianship Planning
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Legacy Preservation Planning
    • Asset Protection
    • Trusts
    • Pet Trusts
    • Gun Trusts
  • Probate
    • Texas Probate Guide
    • Probate of a Will
    • Texas Affidavit of Heirship
    • Texas Small Estate Affidavit
    • Texas Heirship Determination
    • Texas Muniment of Title
    • Trust Administration
  • Family Law
    • Divorce
    • Collaborative Divorce
    • Mediation
    • Custody / Visitation
  • Blog
  • FAQs
    • FAQs – Videos
    • FAQs – Estate Planning
    • FAQs – Beyond Money in Estate Planning
    • FAQs – Divorce and Estate Planning FAQs and Myths
    • FAQs – Estate Planning for Newlyweds Myths and FAQs
    • FAQs – Estate Planning for Young Adults
    • FAQs – The Estate Planning Cast of Characters
    • FAQs – Expecting an Inheritance
    • FAQs – Myths and FAQs – Planning for Conflict Prone Families
    • FAQs – New and Expanding Families
    • FAQs – Pet Trusts
    • FAQs – Probate
    • FAQs – Standalone Retirement Trust Myths and FAQs
    • FAQs – Trust Modifications
    • FAQs – Unwinding Obsolete Planning
    • FAQs – Why You Want to Avoid Probate
    • FAQs – Year-End Planning Myths and FAQs
  • Contact
    • Virtual Estate Planning Login
    • Client Portal

Did you or a loved one make any of these five critical estate planning mistakes?

December 22, 2022 By Gratia P. Schoemakers, Esq.

Estate Planning Mistakes

Sadly, most Americans are indifferent to estate planning – at best – or completely ignore the issue – at worst. When it comes to estate planning, however, there are just some mistakes that you cannot afford to make. Below are five of the most critical estate planning mistakes.

  1. Not having any estate plan. This is the biggest mistake, especially among younger professionals or young parents who assume they don’t need one. Passing away intestate – or without an estate plan – will assure local law decides who ends up with what assets when you are gone. Even the care of your children is up to the courts.
  2. Failing to properly handle paperwork. This is typically in the form of not updating beneficiary designations on insurance and retirement accounts. Some people may be surprised to learn that beneficiary designations override instructions left in a will or trust.
  3. Not reviewing documents regularly. An estate plan should be reviewed every three to five years, when there’s a new child or grandchild, a significant increase or decrease in assets, or moving to a new state. This ensures you are protecting your loved ones’ future because circumstances change over time.
  4. Not funding your trust. A trust relies on being funded to operate correctly. If you pass away and leave an unfunded trust behind a probate case – what you were trying to avoid by creating a trust in the first place – is required to fund your trust post-death.
  5. Too much given away, too soon. As much as 50 percent of inheritances are squandered shortly after being received, meaning that it is important to space out inheritances over the course of the beneficiary’s lifetime to reduce the risk of this happening.

While no one wants to think about their own incapacity or death; this is precisely why many avoid the topic of estate planning altogether. Avoid making these mistakes and leaving your family at financial risk. Contact us today to build a well-crafted plan for you and your family.

Filed Under: Estate Planning Tagged With: Dying Intestate, Family Law, Mistakes

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