Your Love For Your Family Does Not Change, But Your Estate Plan Should
In contrast to all the gloom and doom that circulates on the Internet at ever increasing speeds, let us take a moment to celebrate the things that you are doing right. If you are 50 years old and you have already written a will, give yourself a round of applause. If you make your spouse and children your priority in life, they probably appreciate this, but it can’t hurt to hear this appreciation expressed out loud. The fact that you wrote a will while your children were young shows how much you care and how you are actually doing something to protect them from life’s hardships, instead of just talking a big game. Of course, if you reread the will that you wrote all those years ago, you might notice that it leaves some questions unanswered. The biggest mistake that young people make when they write their wills is assuming that both spouses will live to an advanced age. A Tampa estate planning attorney can help you revise your estate plan in a way that still shows your love and commitment to your immediate family but is better equipped to help them deal with the challenges of old age.
True Love Means Acknowledging Your Mortality More Than Once
Estate planning lawyers sometimes use the term “I love you wills” to refer to the wills that young people write to protect their young families. Usually, both spouses set the same provisions in their respective wills. A typical “I love you will” goes something like, “If I predecease my spouse, my spouse inherits all my assets. If my spouse predeceases me, our children inherit equal shares of my property.”
Now that you are closer to retirement age, think again about if this is really how you want your estate plan to work. If your spouse is the picture of health but you have just been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, then your spouse will probably outlive you by many years, and she will have a lot of estate planning to do if she gets remarried. In another scenario, if you are recently widowed, with your children set to inherit equal shares of your estate, is this really what you want? There is no one size fits all answer to whether siblings should inherit equal or unequal shares of their parents’ estates. Furthermore, do you have other family members or friends that you want to inherit property from you? Revising your will could be a solution to these problems, but so could setting up non-probate assets. It is your decision what to do with your estate, and an estate planning lawyer can help you make an informed decision.
Contact David Toback With Questions About Estate Plans That Preserve Family Togetherness
A Central Florida estate planning lawyer can help you review your estate plan and make changes to it if necessary. Contact David Toback in Tampa, Florida to set up a consultation.
Source:
legalzoom.com/articles/the-basics-of-i-love-you-wills
