In March 2014, Trusts & Estates published the findings from the 7thAnnual Industry Trends Survey conducted by WealthCounsel and WealthManagement.com. The survey looked at the business challenges of estate-planning professionals and provided insight on what motivates clients to engage in planning. The survey found that the top three reasons that clients engage in planning are to: (1) avoid probate (59%), (2) minimize discord among beneficiaries (57%), and (3) protect children from mismanaging their inheritances (39%).
Yet, in spite of the survey results indicating that probate avoidance is foremost in the mind of those who engage in planning, the bad news is that the majority of Americans don’t plan because they lack awareness as to why they should.
Are You Making Any of These Top 10 Estate Planning Mistakes?
#10. Letting Your Family Go To Probate Court
#9 Believing All Living Trust Plans are the Same
#8 Failing to Address What Will Happen When You’re Disabled
#7 Not Protecting Your Beneficiaries from Themselves
#6 Not Protecting Your Beneficiaries from Third Parties
#5 Thinking Your Living Trust Covers Your IRA or other Retirement Accounts
#4 Thinking Your Living Trust is Enough
#3 Believing the Persons(s) Who You Name to Act as Trustee Will Know What to Do
#2 Not keeping up with Changes
#1 Procrastination – “I understand how important it is to properly take care of my estate plan, but I’m too _(fill in the blank with your excuse_!”