Common Will Planning Mistakes: How to Avoid Them

Most Common Will Planning Mistakes: How to Avoid Them

Do you want to ensure your will is legal and issue-free? If so, find out what are the most common will planning mistakes and how to avoid them.

Keyword(s): will planning

As adults, we tend to focus on our future life, constantly planning and revising where we see ourselves headed. However, the imminent scenario of death requires some attention as well.

Your will ensures that your assets fall into the proper hands when you pass away. Proper will planning eliminates problems for your loved ones later on.

Will Planning Mistakes to Avoid

Do not make mistakes that will leave your grieving loved ones with a headache later on. Keep reading to learn common and avoidable planning mistakes.

Not Planning at All

Many people push off even creating a plan because they feel too young to think about it. This might be the biggest mistake of all. We never really know when tomorrow will stop coming for us.

All adults should create a will to save their loved ones from chaos during a heartbreaking time. If you own a home, then create an estate plan will. Even if you do not own much, creating a will can save family members from fighting over keepsake items.

Failing to Keep it Updated

Families grow and shrink. Whenever this happens, you want to make sure that you put a new child into the will or take a deceased loved one out fairly quickly.

Your assets may frequently change as well. Regularly updating the will guarantees that everyone and everything important makes their way into this important document.

Overlooking a "What-If" Plan

For instance, what if you and your spouse die together in a tragic accident? Then, who receives the assets? Make sure you note this for your business, estate, and other important assets to avoid mistakes.

You may also want to name somebody else on the will in case somebody passes away after you. For instance, you may want your home to go to your child whenever your spouse passes away, to avoid a new spouse from overtaking a family asset.

Giving Taxing Gifts

Make sure that the person can afford whatever you leave them. The IRS sets a gift tax. If you leave items valued over $14,000, then the person must claim them on their taxes and pay up to 40%.

This brings up one of the most common estate planning mistakes. Putting your child's name onto the deed can put them into debt. In your estate plan, give the home to your loved one as an inheritance to avoid this tax.

Forgetting About Intangible Assets

We live in a digital age. You want to include intangible assets like important research, business data, and logins with passwords for social media accounts for your loved ones to protect your work and personal business. It will also give them the option to delete or memorialize your accounts.

Not Meeting with a Professional

You might think that you already know who gets what. However, it is not always that cut and dry. A legal professional can help you navigate this process too keep everything legal and avoid estate issues.

Hire an Attorney to Help You Plan Your Will

Will planning should happen now. Don't wait until it's too late.

We want to help ensure that your loved ones inherit treasures and not headaches. Contact us to help plan your will and estate plan today!