Economy Down? Time to Review Your Estate Plan says NYT

At the Michigan Estate Planning Lawyer Blog, I have posted a few times that due to this down economy, it is a prime time to review your estate plan.  Well, The New York times blog has an interesting article on the topic as well.

Take a minute to read “Smaller Though It May Be, It’s Time to Look at the Estate” by Paul Sullivan at the New York Times.

Sullivan writes:

But estate planning is not primarily about avoiding a tax that few have been subject to since it was instituted in 1916. The primary goal has always been how to bequeath what you have to the heirs you picked. And if handled wrongly, wills can become a vehicle that destroys families.

“As the economy gets worse, children will be looking at that inheritance,” said Les Kotzer, an attorney and author of “Where There’s an Inheritance: Stories From the World of Two Wills Lawyers” (Continental Atlantic Publications). “They might start looking at the house as their entitlement. I have kids calling me and asking me, ‘When do I get my inheritance?’ ”

The biggest issue, given both the recession and the flux in federal estate tax laws, is whether wills already drawn up still fulfill their intent.

Our Michigan Estate Planning and Michigan Probate Law office has seen a rise of heirs thinking about challenging their inheritance or lack of inheritance.  If you have an estate plan, now is the time to review your estate plan to ensure it is air (heir, sorry bad pun) tight in this down economy as people become more desperate and litigious.

-Christopher J. Berry, Esq.
Michigan Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning Lawyer