Protecting Thanksgiving After You’re Gone

 This post is from Jacob Hilburn, FA 2020 Wills, Trusts & Estates student and Regent Law 2021 Graduate:

 

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Who doesn’t enjoy spending time with loved ones? Each year gathering around the family dinner table is a precious moment that should be protected. You may not see a connection between Thanksgiving and estate planning at first, but having a good estate plan, and encouraging your relatives to have a good estate plan, may help ensure that Thanksgiving with the family is protected for years to come.

Almost nothing is more heartbreaking than relatives fighting over the property of a deceased family member. Even with the best intentions, people may disagree about how a loved one meant for his or her property to be dispersed. Feuds between family members with conflicting stories of who a departed relative said the old family farm should go to are all too common in law school casebooks. The only way for everyone to have peace of mind that Uncle Joe’s wishes are being carried out after he passes is if Uncle Joe clearly laid out his wishes in a carefully designed estate plan with the help of his attorney.

When famous singer Aretha Franklin passed away in 2018, it was believed that she had no will and that her property would pass to her four sons by an intestate succession statute created by the Michigan legislature. However, last year, three hand scribbled papers detailing different plans for the distribution of her property were found in a locked box inside the couch in Aretha’s home. This discovery has caused discord among the singer’s children as two of her sons are now proponents of one handwritten will and two sons are proponents of another. Unfortunately, this argument may be settled in court, but relationships in the family may never be the same.

All of this family drama could have been prevented by a comprehensive estate plan. A death in the family is always heartbreaking, but such an emotional time is only made worse by a disagreement among the surviving family members. The only way to prevent such an unfortunate occurrence from happening in your family is to be certain that you have clearly and unambiguously provided for the disposition of your assets.

Make this Thanksgiving one that helps promote family harmony and restoration by settling these estate matters with a comprehensive plan in advance of needing it.