By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney
As I’ve often stated, whenever a celebrity passes away, I’m always interested in learning about their estate planning and the things their family is doing with their estate. The reason for this is that we can often learn great lessons from celebrities and others who do things both the right way, and the wrong way when it comes to estate planning. Recently, Sean Connery, who portrayed the original 007 James Bond, as well as other memorable big-screen characters, passed away.
It’s estimated that the value of his estate is around $350 million. Additionally, it’s clear that he owned real estate, and other business ventures and assets in several countries. In other words, his estate is likely very complex.
Another thing that has emerged after his death is that Sean Connery suffered from dementia towards the end of his life. In other words, despite being a strong and manly person both on and off screen, age and mortality still had its effect on him. From Sean Connery we can learn that the only certainty in life is that at some point our life will come to an end. Because of this, we need to have a plan in place that will take care of our assets regardless of where they are located. Additionally, we can also learn that, like Sean Connery, towards the end of our own lives we may need assistance and help from others because of physical or mental frailties.
Estate planning is the only way that you can stay in control of who will be assisting you if you need help during your lifetime because of dementia or physical problems. Additionally, having a written estate plan is the only way that you can control who will receive your money, property, and other assets after you pass away.
Every basic estate plan includes a durable power of attorney, a last will and testament, a living will, and a power of attorney for health care. Additionally, many estate plans will also include one or more trusts for very specific purposes and to accomplish specific things.
We understand that you don’t know which of these documents you may need or even who you might want to name to help you if or when you need it. Our job is to make this process as simple and easy for you as possible. We do this by providing a free Estate Planning Questionnaire that we can either email to you or you can download from our website. This is a PDF document that you can type directly into and save to your computer. The Questionnaire is the best place to start when it comes to compiling the information about you, your family and loved ones, so you can have a clear picture about the things that you should be considering when it comes to your own plan.
Once you have the Questionnaire filled out, you can email it back to me and we can schedule a free 30-minute consultation to review your information and discuss the things that are important to you when it comes to your own estate plan. This gives us the ability to answer your specific questions and to talk with you about the options that are available to you both while you are alive and after you pass away.
We encourage you to contact us today.
ENLIST AN IDAHO ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY TO HELP YOU
If you have any questions about your estate or how to simplify your plans for your family and loved ones, we can help. Call us toll free at 877-232-6101 or 208-232-6101 for a free consultation with Lane Erickson and the Racine Olson team of Estate Planning attorneys in Pocatello. You can also email Lane Erickson directly at lane@racineolson.com. We will answer your questions and will help you solve your Pocatello estate planning problems. I have helped numerous clients create their own customized estate plans and I’m confident that I can help you too.