Earlier today, I heard the sad news that Farrah Fawcett had died.
Suffering from cancer, she has been ill for some time, and in recent
months we've all been following her declining health.
Farrah's death, along with two more widely reported deaths in the
last few days - that of Ed McMahon and of Iowa high school Coach Ed
Thomas, demonstrate the three primary reasons we all need to
acknowledge our own mortality and do some advance planning. A fourth,
shockingly unexpected death, that of Michael Jackson just moments
ago,demonstrates another reason to do advance planning.
The four different reasons are:
1) to prepare for disability
2) to provide for our children's future
3) to dispose of our things in a way that carries out our own philosophies of life
4) to provide some shield for our private lives from the public
Farrah Fawcett was sick, with a disease that she knew had a great
potential to render her unable to take care of herself and her affairs
at some point. Disability planning would ensure that you, if you were
to find yourself in a similar situation, had given someone you trusted
the authority to take care of both your personal and financial affairs
during the time you were unable to do so, saving your family from
scrambling to seek guardianships and other measures to ensure that your
affairs are properly taken care of. You would also want to give
someone the authority to speak to doctors and insurance companies about
your care, saving yourself from the added stress, and also to designate
someone to make medical decisions on your behalf if you were unable to
do so.
Coach Ed Thomas was just 58 years old when he was shot and killed
at his gym by a former student. Although his two children were grown,
the risk of accidental and completely unexpected death is high for
people who are too young to be thinking about their old age, and many,
many traffic accidents and crimes take the lives of people with
children still living at home. Advance planning would ensure that
parents have specified people that share their philosophy of parenting
will take over the raising of their children, instead of leaving the
job to whatever family member volunteers first. Parents can set up
trusts for their minor children that leave instructions on how to use
the money - instructions that incorporate the parents' own beliefs and
parenting style. These trusts can also protect their children's
inheritance by keeping large lump sums of money out of their children's
direct control until the children are old enough to act with maturity
and responsibility. Without such a trust, children receive their full
inheritance at age 18 - something few, if any, parents would do if they
were alive.
Ed McMahon, died at the age of 86. At that age, our deaths are
not unexpected, although death is certainly not expected at any
particular time. Also at that age, our children are likely to be old
enough that passing on an inheritance is not of great concern. But we
may have accumulated meaningful possessions and significant money, and
we likely want to pass it on in a way that reflects our values and
interests. In addition to our children, we may want to leave legacies
to grandchildren, to friends, or to charities, all of which must be set
out in a valid will to take effect.
Michael Jackson was only 50 years old and did still have young
children at home. he would certainly have wanted to set up trusts and
designate guardians for his children, but his position as one of the
most recognized and famous people in the entire world creates other
planning concerns, as well. Any person with some measure of celebrity,
whose death may be of interest to media and tabloid outlets, may want
to keep the details of their possessions, money, business interests,
and property distribution private. The careful use of trusts can do
just that. A will is filed in the public records and can be viewed by
anyone, as well as the inventory and appraisal done of the estate as
part of the probate process. But trusts are not public record, and the
use of a trust to hold and to pass property can keep TMZ - or nosy
neighbors - out of the very last bit of your business.
Although none of us will ever know exactly
how and when we will leave this life, there is nothing so certain as
the fact that it will happen. Take the time to do your planning before it's too late.
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