Among estate planners, Stephen Leimberg is considered a foremost expert. He is a JD, CLU and Professor of Taxation and Estate Planning at the American College in Bryn Mawr, PA. He is an attorney, nationally known speaker and best selling author of over 40 books on Estate, Financial and Retirement Planning.
Over 40,000 attorneys and estate planners subscribe to his newsletter. I wanted to share this quotation from his article on, "The Ten Most Common Estate Planning Mistakes":
Mistake 10: Lack of a "Mater Strategy" Game Plan
Do it yourself estate and financial planning is the closest thing to do it yourself brain surgery. Few people can do it successfully…A key principle in estate planning is that you can't eliminate the big mistakes in your estate plan until you've identified them.
Many people think that they have done the right thing, but the mistakes I see are common. Here is one of the most common--appointing your children to act as your executor or trustee.
In an article by Stephen Leimberg and Charles Plotnick, "Selection of Executor, Trustee, and Attorney" they say that you should consider many aspects in selecting a trustee, among them:
I still hear many stories about parents that are supporting their children financially, yet have selected their children as trustees of their trust. Does a grown adult child who needs financial help meet the above standards?
If you have done nothing more than had an attorney draw up a living trust, this is hardly estate planning. You or your heirs could still be exposed to estate taxes, unnecessary income taxes, improper distribution and liquidity problems in settling your estate.
If you would like to avail yourself of a complete estate review, please gather up a list of your investments, copy of your will and trust and call to set an appointment time. Often, some very simple amendments in your plans can prevent a lot of heartache.