Common Estate Planning Traps, Part Two

Written By Mike Beshara

A good estate plan is a tremendous gift to your loved ones and to yourself. In contrast, a poor plan can lead to conflict and even court involvement, leaving your family in turmoil. Here are some additional traps to watch for when creating your plan:

#16. Choosing a lawyer who doesn't specialize to write your estate plan

#17. Drafting your own will

#18. Relying on a will or trust kit you purchased at a store or online

#19. Not planning for pets

#20. Believing you are too young to need an estate plan

#21. Not having a financial power of attorney.

#22. Not doing any planning to reduce estate taxes.

#23. Not maximizing annual tax-free gifts

#24. Not planning for how to pay estate taxes.

#25. Owning your life insurance policy directly

#26. Not revising the estate plan after significant life changes.

#27. Forgetting to update beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts.

#28. Leaving a living trust unfunded.

#29. Failing to destroy prior estate planning documents.

#30. Not addressing digital assets.

#31. Failing to name alternates.

#32. Not telling anyone where estate planning documents are stored.

#33. Not planning for burial or cremation logistics.

#34. Choosing the wrong person to act as executor, trustee, or agent.

Mike Beshara

In addition to being an attorney in private practice beginning in 1991, Mike spent several years as a professor in and Director of the baccalaureate Legal Studies Program at Texas Wesleyan University. Licensed in both state and federal courts, he focuses his practice on estate planning and probate. He received his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from SMU, where he was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He also received his law degree (Juris Doctor) from SMU, where he was a Sumners Scholar. His professional memberships include the American Bar Association, the Real Estate, Probate & Trust Law (“REPTL”) Section of the State Bar of Texas, the Dallas Estate Planning Council, the Probate, Trusts & Estates Section of the Dallas Bar Association, and the Texas Bar College. A native Dallasite, he is a magna cum laude graduate of Jesuit College Prep. He has been happily married to Laura for 32 years, and is the proud father of two sons, Alex and Nick.

https://www.mikebesharalaw.com/
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Common Estate Planning Traps, Part One