Another year and the tales of estate planning snafus just get scarier. To get you in the spooky spirit and maybe motivate you to take next steps for yourself, we are going to share some of our most scary stories about estate planning.
Forgetful Femme
Ruth was very prepared; she got her estate plan done and she made sure her assets were in trust. However, she failed to tell her Trustees or Agents that they were in charge.
She had named her friends whom she loved dearly, but she did not consult with them first. As time went on, she began to lose her capacity, but no one knew who was in charge.
After research and several conversations, her friends discovered that they were named to act on Ruth’s behalf both financially and for healthcare. Unfortunately, by this time, Ruth did not have the capacity to make any changes to her documents.
Ruth’s friends had their own ailments and noted that if they were asked they would not have agreed to oversee her. Not to mention the resentment that they each felt for being named without being consulted.
The good news is that despite all this the friends stepped in, however, don’t be Ruth and forget to consult your loved ones before naming them.
The Secret Estate Plan
Henry and Sue were married for 30 years. They did not have children together, but Henry had 3 children from a previous marriage. Henry decided to do his estate planning to protect his wife and children.
However, he did it without his wife and told no one that it had been done. In preparing his trust, he informed the attorney that much of his assets were separate property and therefore thought he could plan as he pleased.
In his trust he had said that the house he and his wife had lived in for 30 years would go to his children, and that his second house would go to his wife.
While the attorney prepared this plan, the attorney did inform him that there could be issues with community property rights.
Upon Henry’s death, his wife and his children found his trust. His wife, Sue, was clearly upset to have to leave her home after 30 years.
Sue then hired her own counsel to fight for her community property rights to the assets. While there can be separate property in a marriage, it is always important to consult with a family law attorney before deciding to create a separate estate plan from a spouse.
Also, planning in secret is never a good choice.
Medical Madness
Susan was very sick; she had been in the hospital for about a month and was finally starting to recover. Her daughter Rose was taking care of her and had been in the hospital with her almost daily.
While in the hospital, Susan told the doctors and nurses that her daughter had permission to make decisions for her while incapacitated and her daughter could be provided her medical records and information.
Susan was doing much better and went to a rehab facility to finish her recovery. However, at the rehab facility she became incapacitated and went back to the hospital.
Unfortunately, when Rose called the hospital to find out what had happened to her mom, they wouldn’t tell her anything because she didn’t have proper legal authority to get access to Susan’s medical information or make decisions on her behalf.
Incapacity can happen at any time, so don’t wait to name who is in charge.
These are only a few of the things that can happen without proper estate planning. If you would like to avoid scary stories just like these, give us a call.
Lauren C. Jones Law | 916.226.4470 | www.laurencjoneslaw.com
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