I have met with several widows and widowers over the past few weeks that have been surprised by the mechanics and requirements of their own living trust plans after the recent death of their spouse. These plans were drafted and prepared by other attorneys. It is imperative that when you create an estate plan, you fully understand what will happen when either you or your spouse dies or becomes incapacitated.
When drafting estate plans, the experienced estate planner has no problem understanding the plan he or she created. Unfortunately, many of the clients are confused or don't bother to consider the real-life consequences of what they are signing. When it becomes a problem, it may be too late to rectify.
There is nothing wrong with an attorney explaining in lay terms portions of your estate plan that are necessarily complex and you relying on those explanations. However, if the explanations are unclear, you must insist that the estate planning attorney spend some extra time with you so that you are comfortable and that you understand what will happen when things in your life change. Insist on clarification.
No comments:
Post a Comment