While having an estate plan is extremely important to protect your and your family’s interests, simply executing any plan can cause even larger problems if not prepared properly. Here are a few common mistakes that we have seen unnecessarily complicate an estate plan:

1. Improperly identified personal property. It is almost always a common scenario: you’ve designated your nephews to have your civil war memorabilia collection and have stated they can choose whichever objects they like. The issue that arises from this, is that there might be one piece of memorabilia that both nephews want and are disputing over who should get it. What we recommend to our clients is that you clearly write out exactly what you want each beneficiary to receive, as well as the physical location of each item. The goal is to make the process of distributing your assets as painless as possible.

2. Gifting money or significant assets to minors. It’s safe to say we all were not very financial savvy at the age of 18, and had we received a major inheritance at that age, there’s no telling how we would have spent it. It’s important when creating an estate plan to carefully consider the ages at which you would want your children or grandchildren to receive their inheritances, instead of just giving a lump sum of money when they become adults. When we help create a revocable living trust for our clients with minor children, we work closely to ensure that the children will have their health, education, and maintenance taken care of at specific ages and for specific life events.

3. Failing to update an estate plan after major life moments. While we dedicated an entire blog post to this common mistake, it is worth reiterating. A mistake that occurs too frequently, unfortunately, is the failure to update your estate plan after a second marriage, birth of a new child, or death of a loved one. This mistake is not just limited to your estate plan, however, it also applies to beneficiary designations on life insurance policies and retirement accounts.

When we meet with clients, we make sure to cover all of the bases so that these mistakes can be avoided. If you already have an estate plan, make an appointment to see us and we can review your estate plan to make sure it’s up to date. 818.956.9200

Glendale Location

616 E. Glenoaks Boulevard, Suite 203

Glendale, CA 91207

Sherman Oaks Location

15303 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 900

Sherman Oaks, CA 91403