Why do most estate plans fail? Most of the plans being created these days are one-size-fits-all form documents. Literally control F where John becomes George and Jane becomes Susan. This is a major problem because, think about it, are the needs, desires, and goals you have for your family the exact same as your neighbors? Do you have the exact same types of retirement accounts, investment accounts, ownership of property like your neighbors do? Probably not, right? So, why would your neighbor’s estate planning documents be a good fit for your own family?
Sadly, many traditional estate planning law firms create estate plans this way. The attorney will tell a junior associate, “Hey, just go into the past client file folder on the computer and find an estate plan of a past client who has a similar family and asset situation to our current client and just model the current client’s plan from the similar plan of the past client. Use control F to swap out names of past and past account information with the names of the current client’s name and the current client’s account information. Unfortunately, later in life, when something happens, the loved ones you leave behind find out that all they had was a set of one-size-fits-all form documents that did not work when they needed them to and left them stuck in court and in conflict between each other.
Now, if one-size-fits-all form document type of estate plan sounds like an awful idea and you would want a plan and place for your family that is personally tailored to accomplish the goals and desires you have for your family and that would actually work when they would need it to, then, I would encourage you to book a 15-minute call with me this week to learn exactly how our proven process can help create a personally tailored plan just like that for your family.
If you have any questions about this topic or need to talk about your estate planning needs, you can always schedule a time to talk with me over the phone for FREE by going to MyEstateMeeting.com.
This article is a service of estate planning attorney Elliott Feldman and the Elliott Feldman Law Group. We do not just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Family Prosperity Planning Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by calling our office today to schedule a Family Prosperity Planning Session and mention this article to find out how to get this $750 planning session at no charge.