The linked article, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/liveblog/wp/2013/03/14/magazine-the-rift-a-family-dynasty-fights-over-the-future-of-luray-caverns/?hpid=z1, from The Washington Post, describes the feud between the six siblings within the Graves Family, that owns the third most-visited cave in the U.S.?Luray Caverns. The contention?between the older and younger siblings?might have come to a head once the Parents had passed away. It brings back memories of the numerous times that I tried to counsel clients when they were establishing, or updating, their Estate Plan. I must disclose, however, that my suggestions were as a non-attorney.
As a Financial Advisor for several decades, I considered it part of my goal to inquire as to Clients? Estate Plans. Do they have an up-to-date Will, a Living Trust or provided for Minor Children? If they are older, how about a Durable Power-of-Attorney and a Health Care Surrogate? Is their Life Insurance sufficient for their current needs, or perhaps have too much? You would be surprised at how little some people think of these points.
One situation that I had run across many times is that the various Children didn?t particularly get along. In most cases, however, just like with the Graves Siblings, that tension was off the radar screen while the Parents were alive. Also, oftentimes, attorneys either gloss over or do not even address such points. Is it their job?
Forty years ago, I ran into a situation where the adult Son and Daughter of an elderly Widow did not see eye-to-eye. The Son had introduced his attorney friend who had created an Estate Plan for the Mother, which favored Growth (to the benefit of the Children), rather than the Income, which the Daughter knew that the Mom needed.
Some years ago, I had a client, an elderly Widow, who named her two sons, who detested each other, as Attorneys-in-Fact, Executors and Trustees. It was so bad that even their respective wives made derogatory comments about the other brother and their wife. When Mom passes on, how are they going to work together?
As you get up-in-years (whatever that means), update your Estate Plan and be sure to review who the various Fiduciaries are?and if they need to be updated. For instance, a family member who has recently been divorced, fired or had medical problems, might not be in the best frame-of-mind to handle your Estate. If you have several children, consider whether any are financially astute, been a Fiduciary before, speaks to everyone who might be a beneficiary, etc. Do you trust them?
Now, it?s hard to determine what?s going to happen when you are not around. But, you?ve got to try to read the tea leaves, so to speak. Perhaps, check with non-family member friends (your age) who know the family well. Parents tend to think that everything is hunky-dory, and that it?s just like when the kids were ten-or-twelve and played togther in the yard. But, kids grow up and can become estranged. So, do your homework!
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This entry was posted on March 15, 2013, 12:26 AM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Source: http://thetruthoncommonsense.com/2013/03/15/sometimes-the-parents-maintain-the-peace/
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