Archive for ‘estate planning’

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at what can happen to your digital life after you pass away.  WSJ recommends making a list of your online accounts, usernames, and passwords to help those you leave behind close the doors on that part of your life.  I believe this is a need that will only grow stronger as more people shift more of their lives online in the coming decades.

In another real life example of how it pays to be completely clear on who gets what when it comes to passing assets, we have this story from Illinois.  This might have been prevented if the father had been more explicit in his wishes, or at least recognized the potential for conflict ahead of time.  As it is, it’s another sad example of how (any amount of) money can potentially strain family relations upon the death of the parents.

As an aside, for many years The ACU Foundation used to give away a book called Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?, which focuses on how to go about distributing unique, priceless family heirlooms when there is more than one heir.  We have a handful left in our office (I just checked – about 15 copies as of this writing); if you’d like one at no charge, just contact our office.  You can also find them through Amazon for about $7 at the link above.

In today’s regular post, I mentioned the possibility of creating a do-it-yourself will using software.  I came across this article that discusses Consumer Reports look at three different DIY will software packages.  CR created different wills from those software packages and had the completed documents reviewed by a law school professor who specializes in estates and trusts.

Upshot: DIY software might be okay for very basic wills, but not much else.  Money quote:

“We found one good use for all three of these products — education,” said Tobie Stanger, Senior Editor, Consumer Reports Money Adviser. “Going through the interviews forces you to think about issues like who should be the alternative executor, and who gets your estate if your spouse and kids don’t survive you. This information is easier to digest in interview form than reading is as straight estate law.”

Article summary: Between 60-70% of Americans do not have any formal estate plan.  We take a closer look at three common reasons given for not creating an estate plan.

Depending on the study you read, somewhere between 6 and 7 out of every 10 Americans do not have a will, let alone an estate plan.

At The ACU Foundation, we operate under the assumption that every adult needs an intentional estate plan.  Young or old, rich or poor, six children or none – we believe everyone needs an estate plan, and everyone can create an estate plan.  Yes, that means you.

But why do we think it’s so important?  And what kinds of things keep people from actually following through with creating an estate plan?

Let’s start with a simple definition: what is an intentional estate plan? More »