Estate Planning & Will Writing

A number of years ago, I spoke at a seminar organized by some clients, called "Sign here, my dear". The point of the seminar was that spouses, in most case wives, know very little about family finances and are often just called upon to sign documents without knowing what they are. In my practice, I continue to see this mismatch of financial information in many situations.

My experience is that this is rarely done for a bad purpose, but more often because one spouse has more financial skills and doesn't want to burden the other. But when the less-experienced spouse becomes a widow or widower, and is to some extent on her or his own, problems can arise. These problems are obvious: spending money unnecessarily, choosing the wrong investments or investment advisors, making unfavorable choices regarding health insurance and Social Security, even deciding where to live.

The result is a much less secure and happy life for the survivor; and problems for the rest of the family as well. Children might help, but sometimes they give conflicting advice.  The solution is easy to describe, but often fails in the execution: training, review and guidance for the less-experienced spouse. And, as well, a set of trusted advisors who can help the survivor with these important decisions. Start with a notebook. List sources of monthly income; regular monthly expenses; where assets are located and how they are titled (and this includes items like retirement plan accounts and IRAs); the names of advisors and the kind of advice they give; where important documents are located.

Once you start this project, more information will come to mind. And the result should be a better "rest of life" for the survivor and avoiding unnecessary and inappropriate expenditures that deplete what passes on to the next generation.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations