Estate Planning Mistakes

“When is the last time you updated your will? Could your beneficiaries have changed? If you have a trust, did you actually fund it? Is your plan ready for the new SECURE Act? Here are five mistakes you don’t want to make.”

You don’t have to be super-wealthy to see the benefits from a well-prepared estate plan. However, you must make sure the plan is updated regularly, so these kinds of mistakes don’t occur and hurt the people you love most, reports Kiplinger in its article entitled “Is Anything Wrong with Your Estate Plan? Here are 5 Common Mistakes.”

An estate plan contains legal documents that will provide clarity about how you’d like your wishes executed, both during your life and after you die. There are three key documents:

It’s hard to imagine legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix preparing a will; only 27 when he died, he likely did not have a great deal of assets. However, his estate grew after his death, and his not having a will, combined with a lopsided will of his father, led to years of legal battles between the Hendrix siblings.

It’s ironic that when Jimi Hendrix died at the tender age of 27, only one of his legacies was his amazing artistry with the electric guitar. The second legacy was his estate, which grew to vast proportions after his death, as did his fame.

His brother Leon Hendrix and his adopted sister Janie Hendrix have been fighting with each other over that legacy. Both of them have sought to profit from it and have worked at cross-purposes. The latest battle between them was over a trademark infringement lawsuit.

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