You may consider the making of your estate plan a private matter that you wish to keep between you and your trusted lawyer. However, once you name someone as your beneficiary, executor, trustee, or otherwise as someone with certain expectations, they become intrinsically and automatically involved in it. So, it may be better to get ahead of the situation and communicate your intentions with them before the time comes that you are no longer able to. All that said, please follow along to find out the consequences of failing to communicate your estate plan and how a proficient Broward County estate lawyer at The Probate Lawyers can help open up this conversation with your family members.
What are the consequences of failing to communicate my estate plan?
You may not see the repercussions of keeping your estate plan private throughout your lifetime. However, this may create serious problems amongst your family members after the time of your unfortunate death. That is, failing to communicate your estate plan clearly and properly may result in the following consequences:
- Your family members may not know which estate planning documents to track down, let alone where to physically locate them.
- Your family members may not know the extent of your wealth and thereby be unequipped to manage their significant inheritances.
- Your family members may not know your private wishes for how your assets should be dealt with and they ultimately mishandle them.
- Your family members may be disappointed in how your assets were distributed seemingly unequally and dispute amongst one another.
- Your family member(s) may not have known they were appointed as an executor, trustee, or another important role and be unwilling to accept it.
How do I facilitate conversations about my estate plan?
We encourage you to have formal conversations with your family members regarding your estate plan, rather than mentioning tidbits of information in passing here and there. With these scheduled sit-down meetings, they may better understand the seriousness of your expectations and wishes. They may also reflect and prepare questions, comments, and concerns to address while they have your attention, which you may deeply consider when working on your estate planning documents.
Notably, it may be beneficial for you to have an attorney present during these conversations. They may explain your estate plan with digestible descriptions and terms that allow your family members to better grasp its concept, especially your minor ones. They may also mediate should there ever be a conflict amongst your family members after you share your initial intentions.
In conclusion, if you need legal assistance urgently, please do not miss another opportunity to schedule an initial consultation with a talented Broward County estate lawyer from The Probate Lawyers. Contact our firm today.
