E288 There’s No Such Thing as a Perfect Estate Plan

<p>“There’s no such thing as a perfect estate plan,” Sherlock Holmes would probably say if he did probate. What we mean is that things may not work out the way you plan, no matter how hard you try.</p> <p>We’ll review an anonymous probate case study, where even in an ideal planning scenario (knowing the time of death to the minute, and plenty of time to plan ahead), there were all sorts of probate problems.</p> <p>Solo Ager, Linda, was terminally ill, and had a planned end of life. This means she knew, to the minute, when she would pass, and she had months to plan in advance. Here’s how her probate unfurled. This is not a criticism of Linda; rather an acknowledgement that it is difficult to plan a perfect estate.</p> <h2>What part of her estate plan worked?</h2> <p>First, Linda hired us as her professional executor. This acted as a safety net because we are experienced to look for problems (and she let us know that there would be problems).</p> <p>Linda also had pre-planned funeral arrangements, which allowed her remains to be treated exactly how she wanted.</p> <p>She made sure to arrange for the care of her dog. This helped to avoid the panic of a dog in the apartment with no caregiver.</p> <p>Lastly, she did a good job of canceling her utility services. Usually, we have to determine what services the decedent utilized, so this saved lots of time.</p> <h2>What part of her estate plan didn’t work?</h2> <p>First, Linda did a good job of preparing her will and naming a professional executor. However, she kept her original will in her apartment, instead of storing it with her attorney or somewhere else. This caused problems for several reasons.</p> <p>If your original will gets lost, it is presumed that you intentionally destroyed it, thereby revoking it. If your attorney, CPA, or trusted advisor loses it, then they can petition the court to rely on a copy. The professional has no right to revoke your will, so it can be assumed that they just lost the original. While a professional losing a will is not good, at lea