In past generations, families were very close, there were few estates that had any tax liability, and children respected their parents’ wishes, both before and after the parents passed away.
A solid estate plan should include your will, a power of attorney and a trust. All of these components provide asset protection for your business while you’re alive and after your death.
In their trust they leave each other their share upon death and then I would be trustee when my last parent dies. I’m really concerned about this whole deal.
The word “estate” conjures images of great wealth, which may be one of the reasons so many people don’t develop estate plans. Afterall, they’re not rich, so why make the effort?
The wife did not have a durable power of attorney authorizing her spouse to act as her agent in selling the property and now apparently lacked the capacity to sign one.
You make things easier for the children, by planning for the possibility of a nursing home stay because you take the burden off the children to make crisis decisions for your long-term care costs.
Does anyone have a crystal ball that I could borrow? Wouldn’t it be nice to know what our future looks like, so we could be better prepared—but on the other hand, maybe not?
If you or a loved one is living with a chronic disease, such as Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, or Alzheimer’s, your estate planning likely should reflect that challenge.