A lot of what we do, is hear great stories. We meet fabulous individuals, and hear a lot about their kids and their interesting stories about their lives and how they became successful and can now leave something to their loved ones. This is a positive in estate planning.
The other side of Estate Planning Talks
On the other side, a lot of what we do, requires having sensitive and difficult conversations. Why? Because it involves two things that are highly emotional to almost everyone – money and relationships. In our world today, many of the relationships are not the original ones – they are remarriages, live-ins or multiple marriages with divorces. They are families with children from different spouses and in a lot of cases, they are blended families with adult and young kids from both sides and increasingly, they are blended families with adult kids in other states. We have a complexity not only of the relationship, but also of geography. Add to this, the financial past of each spouse that is added to the mix and you can see how estate planning suddenly can take on a different shape altogether. Nothing is black and white, nothing is a template.
A really good estate planning lawyer not only listens but is willing to ask the difficult questions and engage in sensitive conversations because by doing so, your goals with your loved ones and with your assets can be met. Often I have conversations with clients that they don’t even have with their own family members.
Our next series of Blogs are going to cover some of the main topics of difficult or sensitive conversations I have experienced in my work, Tough Talks. We hope this series will help you as you consider your own family and financial makeup. Our topics will include:
- Remarriage – Partner
- Remarriage – Money
- Kids from prior marriage
- Accidentally disinheriting loved ones
- Blended Families – both bringing adult or young kids into the marriage or blended families with kids living in other states
- Estranged Children
- Pre-Nuptial & Post Nuptial Agreements
- Who are your health and estate advocates
- Motivated Millennials vs. Basement Millennials
At the Law Firm of Steven Andrew Jackson, Attorney and Counsellor at Law, we have helped hundreds of families protect themselves and their loved ones, avoid Estate Taxes and Probate Costs, and keep their Estate Plans current with the law through The Customized Protective Estate Planning Solution™.