Which Kid Inherits More?

I feel confident that you would rather get a colonoscopy than review your existing (if any) estate planning documents — your wills, trusts, powers of attorney, etc. The fact that we won’t be here forever isn’t an issue we like to ponder extensively, even before we add all the crazy psychological aspects and delve into the mess of figuring out who would get what, if you weren’t here.

Some people think it’s easy. And the rare few like legal complexity.

For most people though, sorting out the complicated issues of how best to leave what to whom is a challenge they’d prefer to avoid. They tend to minimize the difficulty by making the simplest plan possible, which seems reasonable on its face. However, sometimes simplicity has unintended consequences. I commonly hear this: Just leave everything to my spouse first, and then if we go down in the metaphorical plane together, simply split it between my kids.

Here are a few thoughts that you may want to consider before you make things “super simple” and “cheap” on the front end when planning how to distribute assets upon your death.

· What if your son couldn’t manage a large life insurance sum and would go buy crazy cars?

· What if your kids are minors? Who handles the inheritance then, and how is that money to be spent?