Estate Planning Misconceptions – Mistakes that Cost – Part 3

MISCONCEPTION #8: I don’t need a trust because I’m not wealthy.  Completely wrong.  First, you may not consider yourself wealthy, but your family may.  Second, have you added up the value of your estate to find out?  There are reasons other than wealth to have a trust.  Some of the other reasons are you have children with addictions, your children have rocky marriages, or you have children receiving government benefits and don’t want them to lose them.

MISCONCEPTION #9: My spouse gets everything anyway.  Only things owned jointly or setup correctly. If it is an asset or property only in your name, then your spouse doesn’t automatically get the property.  The way to make sure that everything goes to your spouse is by making a plan for the property to transfer properly.  There are a variety of tools that can be used to make sure your property transfers to your spouse.

MISCONCEPTION #10: My second spouse will deal with my children fairly.  Not always.  You trust your spouse.  You think your spouse will do the right thing and leave everything to your children.  But, as soon as you are gone, they rewrite their estate plan and cut your children completely out.  It does happen. I’ve seen it firsthand.  Not much of anything your children can do about it either because you gave everything to your spouse outright.  The best way to make sure what you want your children to have goes to them is with a Trust.

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