Tough Lesson to Learn
Unfortunately, most clients come to me when they learn from the mistakes their parents made in regards to their estate plan. Statistics show that most Americans do not have an estate plan in place. With divorce rates being so high as well, that means more and more people are relying on their state’s intestacy (passing away without an estate plan) statutes with a blended marriage.
Although you may think that your spouse will get all the assets without any issues, most intestacy laws only give the surviving spouse a percentage of the assets in a blended marriage. Passing away without an estate plan in place usually also means that your estate has to go through probate to pass your assets on.
If your spouse relies upon your assets, they could be in deep trouble when you pass away as your assets are frozen until a judge signs an order allowing the bank to unfreeze the accounts. This is a serious problem!
Make sure you do not learn this lesson the hard way and contact the law firm of Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. to learn how setting up an estate plan can benefit you and your heirs.
