Common Estate Planning Mistakes

Written by Nancy W Saia

Very often we see families struggling when their parents have not made even the simplest of estate planning moves or have made moves without the aid of sound legal advice. Some common mistakes are:

  • Making bank accounts joint with one child so he or she can have access to your money to pay bills;
  • Only creating a Power of Attorney at your bank;
  • Placing too much power in the hands of one child and not including others;
  • Keeping all assets in husband’s name because he handles the money;
  • Having the cars in husband’s name because he picked them out alone;
  • Failure to create a well thought-out Power of Attorney;
  • Failing to create a Health Care Proxy with sound legal advice;
  • Failure to create a Will;
  • Promising a piece of furniture to a child, but not making a specific mention of that promise in your Will;
  • Failing to create a Special Needs Trust for a disabled child;
  • Failure to name a Guardian for your minor children;
  • Failure to create a Trust in your Will for minor children;
  • Having your minor children the beneficiaries of your life insurance;
  • Failing to review your Will as your life and circumstances change;
  • Not keeping good records of all of your investments; and
  • Listening to your neighbors rather than contacting an experienced estate planning attorney.

Copyright 2018 Law Offices of Nancy W. Saia
You can find Nancy online at www.lawsaia.com