Every Orange County, California, resident knows that he or she needs to establish an estate plan. However, if you have never created an estate plan before, there are a lot of mistakes that you might inadvertently make during the process of putting one together. This article will discuss two of the most common mistakes you want to avoid when it comes to estate planning.
The first biggest mistake is to not have any kind of estate plan whatsoever. The fact is, none of us will be able to escape death. Whether it happens tomorrow, 10 years from now or 50 years from now, we will eventually die. Unfortunately, knowing this does not make the reality any easier to think about, and a lot of people simply avoid planning their estates because they do not want to think about death. Rather than thinking dark thoughts during the estate planning process, though, California residents are best served to think about the living relatives they will leave behind and how can they make these relatives’ lives easier. This should be sufficient motivation for most people to go ahead and get the job done.The second biggest mistake is to make a will and/or estate plan and never update it. Families change over time, divorces happen, people die, and estate plans need to be adjusted to reflect these changes. For example, failing to update your estate plan after a divorce could result in leaving an ex-spouse your entire estate while accidentally inheriting your children. These and other kinds of calamities can be avoided by keeping your will and estate plan current and up-to-date.There are a lot more estate planning mistakes people make, such as not creating a sufficient plan to deal with and limit estate tax liabilities and other issues. By speaking with a California state planning attorney, Orange County residents can navigate the estate planning process while avoiding these and other common errors, which could serve to destroy their wishes and plans for loved ones after they are gone.
Source: Findlaw, “Ten Common Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid,” accessed Aug. 26, 2015
