Dying Without a Will? Leave a Legal Mess

December 10, 2018

It is estimated that anywhere from 50% to 70% of adult Americans haven’t taken the time to have a basic estate plan. Do you? If you don’t, what are your excuses for not having a basic estate plan in place?

If you don’t have a basic estate plan, you might have something in common with celebrities, such as Prince, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Howard Hughes. All of them failed to plan ahead and have a simple Will or an adequate estate plan.

The death of a celebrity, such as Aretha Franklin, highlights the family drama, court battles, and expense that accompany a death without a Will or estate plan. For example:

• Prince did not have a Will, leaving his six siblings and Personal Representative engaged in a legal battle which is estimated to have cost almost $10 million since his death in 2016 – and the family is still waiting for distribution of the property and money.

• Howard Hughes passed away in 1976 and did not have a Will. His estate wasn’t settled until 2012. Fake Wills and fake heirs showed up in court because Mr. Hughes did not have a Last Will and Testament.

What does this have to do with you? Do you have a valid Last Will and Testament and a Power of Attorney for Health Care?

Dying without an estate plan leaves a legal mess for your family. It is expensive, it is public, and it tends to rip families apart. The big lesson that can be learned from these celebrities who died without an estate plan, it is the big mess left behind due to their failure to execute at least a Will and a Power of Attorney for Health Care. In many cases, these legal messes can take years to be sorted out after thousands of dollars are spent in attorney fees and court costs – and the family members left behind are often torn apart – and the family is ultimately destroyed. Most importantly, these celebrity estates show that the intestacy laws will dictate who gets what, as opposed to what the person would have chosen had he or she taken the time to meet with their attorney and execute a Will.

So what should you do? You should consider a basic estate plan which consists of at the very least a Will, a Power of Attorney for Health Care, and a Power of Attorney for Finances and Property. The cost of same is a tiny fraction of an extensive court battle. The emotional cost to the family members is incalculable in dollars.

The estate-planning attorneys at Clair Law Offices take the time to understand your unique needs and family situations to provide appropriate advice and the legal documents necessary to create your valid estate plan. Clair Law Offices can provide you with peace of mind that you have appointed agents to make health care and financial decisions for you if the need should arise, and that your individual desires would be fulfilled upon your death. We provide you with the solutions to give you peace of mind that you have provided for your most important asset – your family.

Please call us so that we can send you an estate-planning questionnaire, and get you started on your new, or even updated estate plan.

This website material has been prepared by Clair Law Offices for informational and educational purposed only, and does not constitute legal advice. This information is not intended to create and receipt of it does not create, an attorney-client relationship. Please call us and make an appointment. Clair Law Offices has many years of combined experience in estate-planning matters. The best way to prevent leaving the family with a legal dispute is to plan today, for tomorrow.