Author: Jen Kidwell

The State’s Default Plan: A Frightening Proposition
When you don’t make your own will or trust, the state’s plan dictates how your affairs are managed, including appointing a Personal Representative (PR) based on a default order of priority. This means that the person tasked with handling your estate could be someone you would never have chosen. Perhaps it’s a relative you don’t trust or someone you barely know…

Dividing Your Assets: The State’s Hand
Once the PR is appointed, the next step is dividing your assets. The state has a predetermined way of distributing your belongings among family members, which can be a far cry from your own wishes. Spooky, isn’t it? Without a will or trust, your personal possessions, financial accounts, and even sentimental heirlooms could end up in the hands of relatives you may not even want to inherit them.

The Cost of Serving as Personal Representative
To add another layer of fright, even if a responsible family member is chosen to be your PR, they may be required to purchase a bond before serving. This bond acts as a sort of insurance policy, ensuring they manage your estate responsibly. This extra step can be both financially complicated and burdensome during an already difficult time.

Underage Beneficiaries
If you have minor children, the lack of a will or trust becomes even more concerning. The options for underage beneficiaries inheriting property are severely limited. The state’s system may involve complex and expensive financial guardianship proceedings, further complicating your family’s grief and straining their resources.

No Safety Net for Orphans: A Court’s Decision
Perhaps the spookiest scenario of all? If there are no surviving parents for your minor children, their guardianship will be left up to the courts. This means a judge, who may not know your family or your wishes, will decide who will care for your kids. The thought of leaving such an important decision in the hands of the court is enough to send shivers down your spine.

Take Control Before It’s Too Late
The bottom line is clear: failing to create your own will or trust can leave you at the mercy of the state’s default plan—one that may not reflect your wishes, values, or the best interests of your loved ones. Don’t let the state decide your fate or that of your family. Take action now to establish your own estate plan, ensuring your voice is heard and your legacy is honored. After all, there’s nothing scarier than the unknown!

As we embrace the season of spooks and scares, let’s not forget to tackle the truly frightening aspects of life with proactive planning. Your family deserves it—and so do you.

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The holiday season is just around the corner, and while that means that there will be delicious baked goods everywhere and your favorite movies on TV and great deals on all sorts of treasures, it also is a season of family and friends. Between travel and gifting buying and family traditions (both beloved, and otherwise), it’s hard to escape reflecting on family this time of year, regardless of what feelings that stirs up.

No matter what your family has been through in the 12 months, this is a good time of year to dust off those estate planning documents and remind yourself which important jobs you delegated to which sibling, uncle, child, or friend. Who has the power to manage your financial life or your health care decisions if you aren’t in a position to do so yourself? Who would have the power to manage your affairs after you pass away? Is your cousin really still the best person to be a back-up guardian for your kids, or did she commit to the ugly sweater competition with a little too much enthusiasm this year?

Here at Compass Law Partners, we routinely meet families whose loved ones died without estate planning documents, or whose most recent will was circa 1984. Loved ones come to us unsure of what to do if there aren’t documents in place or are unsure how to manage documents that are so old they’re hardly useful anymore. We are always happy to assist, but always do so knowing that there are ways their loved ones could have made the process easier for them.

We recommend you pair that trial version of the side dish you’re making for Thanksgiving with a review of your estate planning documents. We’re always on call to update or create new documents for you.

The summer heat and humidity are surely here to stay for another month or two, and hopefully you have time for at least one more getaway before the arrival of pumpkin-spice-everything. Whether you’re heading to the beach, hiking in the mountains, or exploring a new city, we have some suggestions for ways to make your trip even more relaxing.

If you have minor children and have managed to leave them at home, have you given their caretaker the authority they need to take care of them in an emergency? There are a few ways to approach this depending on your state, but most of them are variations of a Power of Attorney or a Standby Guardian Designation.

Have you officially designated back-up medical decision-makers if both you and your spouse are injured on that amazing parasailing trip? If you haven’t decided on at least two tiers of medical decision-makers, you could be setting your family up for conflict, and, the person you would trust the most to manage your health may not come out on top. Set up or review your Advanced Directive for Healthcare to make sure your wishes are clear so you can parasail in peace.

We can help you check these hidden items off of your vacation to-do list, in addition to creating or updating your will or trust and other important estate planning documents.

Sometimes, for kicks, attorneys who do estate planning imagine how they would go about creating a will or trust for a family from a popular TV show (yes, we know it’s weird and we don’t care). The Brady Bunch is a classic example, and the Modern Family crew is interesting too. But lately, the Madrigal family from Disney’s Encanto has been on my mind (and on a continuous loop on my TV).

One of the most popular songs from the movie is called “We don’t talk about Bruno,” in which family members explain their encounters with a mysterious uncle who disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Perhaps his secrets can reveal some of the complicated dynamics at play in the present. Perhaps all this secret-keeping wasn’t the best move. Perhaps not talking about him was actually making their situation worse!

Every family has unique dynamics and challenges, strengths, and secrets. When we work with a family to create their estate plan, we take the time to learn their values and the situations and relationships that are unique to their family. There’s no one-size fits all family; there’s no one-size fits all estate plan. The process of creating a will or trust to plan for the future invites us to navigate complicated scenarios together. We can help you understand the tools that support the priorities you have for your family – Brunos included.