Making sure your loved ones are taking care of after you pass is an absolute necessity. By creating a will or trust for your family, you can control exactly who gets what in terms of your property. Take a look at some examples of familiar names who did not create proper estate plans:
1. Jimmy Hendrix never drafted a will and did not have an estate plan. His fortune was in probate court for over thirty years after his death. At that point, family members and loved ones missed out on thirty years’ worth of enjoying the property!
2. Heath Ledger drafted and properly executed a will to plan his estate, however; he never updated the will after the birth of his daughter. A few years after his death, his will is still going through probate court in order to figure out how to distribute property to his daughter, if at all.
Then there are celebrities like Robin Williams, who sought competent counsel in order to properly plan his estate. After multiple marriages and multiple children, Williams was able to plan for each and every one of them, and as specifically as he desired. Williams created separate trusts for his children and Williams got to pick the terms of each trust so they could be tailored to each beneficiary.
In the end, you do not want to leave loved ones with an estate that takes years to close because you failed to properly plan while you had the chance. If you need help with estate planning in Raleigh, Morrisville, Durham, or the surrounding areas, contact Hopler & Wilms for a consultation on drafting or updating these important documents.
