You do not need to experience estate planning mistakes yourself to learn from them. You just need to learn from others’.
A lot of people in their younger selves made mistakes in estate planning, Cathedral City, CA, for a variety of reasons, but mainly because of lack of education about the subject
In this post, we are sharing some of the most common mistakes about estate planning that we have compiled from our experience as an estate planning service provider in California:
Mistake #1: Not planning at all.
There are various excuses as to why there’s no estate planning. Some say because they are still young and estate planning can wait. But the truth is, being young and healthy today is not a guarantee that you are going to be healthy tomorrow; illnesses can strike anytime. Illnesses can inflict anyone regardless of age and financial status. What if you suddenly become incapacitated? It is important that you have an estate plan put in place. Setting up Powers of Attorney – be it for healthcare or finances – can be a great start.
Mistake #2: Failure to properly fund or update trust.
There are those who establish trusts only to leave them empty afterwards. Here’s the truth, if you let your trust unfunded, you are not reaping the benefits that a trust can give you. Remember, though not all types of assets can qualify for trust, there are a number of assets that can be put into it. Funding/updating your trust can benefit you and your family a lot particularly when it comes to probate process.
Mistake #3: Ownership and title oversights.
There are many households that are made up of blended families. There are different scenarios with this kind of family set up when it comes to estate planning, Cathedral City, CA. For instance, you may want to preserve assets inherited as your own separate property, or from a prior marriage for your children. But the thing is, ownership and title oversights can have tax consequences and control issues in blended family households. So, make sure you are working with a highly qualified estate planning service provider.
To avoid mistakes in estate planning, Cathedral City, CA, talk to an expert at the Ficara Law Office.
Call today at (760) 365-7000.
