Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sorta. 10 years ago, my aunt (mom's sister) died and my brother and I were her only heirs. We both inherited $1M. We knew before she died that we were her beneficiaries so the inheritance and amount was not a shock at all. Her estate was very well organized and her lawyer seemed 100% on top of things.
Fast forward 10 years, we get notice from an annuity company that there was a $200,000 annuity that had never been distributed. We tried to contact the lawyer, but had no luck (long story.). What was shocking was how this one sizable asset was "lost."
My aunt passed shortly after my mom passed and we weren't excited about the inheritance - the grief was so raw. But 10 years later, it was like we won the lottery. I put the money into a dream renovation of my home and my brother used his to help build his retirement home.
I am an estate planning paralegal and thought I had heard of it all! Thank you PP for sharing this.
I agree that it is awful that the attorney missed an annuity. That it was is quite concerning for many reasons, but the silver lining part is that it was a wonderful and exciting surprise for this PP and her brother. I can't stop thinking about that and while I would not recommend this, but
what if there was a way to actually draft that type of 10 year "hey, there is a bit more!" surprise into an EP document? It is like a hug from the other side in the most surprising way.
Oh, no, I would hate this. Let people plan their finances.
Imagine forgoing private school or that neighborhood you would have preferred or an expensive sport or instrument for your kid, because you needed to be financially responsible, and then finding out there was money for it all along but your deceased relative thought it would be fun to keep it a secret.
We follow (loosely) the idea of "die with nothing". We always knew we would be HNW (hit $8M before age 38) and most likely UHNW someday. We lived comfortably until we hit the $10M+, then we splurged a bit (paid cash for a $1.2M home, but could have easily purchased in the $2.5M+ and in our area that would not be too extravagant (average home price in our area is over $800K+)). but our kids had no clue what we were truly worth. They knew college would be paid for, and they didn't have to worry about the first car, etc. and that we took nicer vacations. But it wasn't until we hit UHNW ($30M+) that they became aware of how much. Now they know, and we gift them yearly to the max, and they invest 95% of it, maxing their ROTHs and 401K and saving for a home. They know we will fund any future grandkids education and other needs (medical, therapies, etc) and will always pay for them to fly and visit us (even once there are SO and grandkids), and they will be included if they want on at least 1-2 vacations per year.
Them having college fully paid for, maxing their retirement from a young age (we matched their IRAs as soon as they started earning W2 income) is much more beneficial than waiting until they are 50+ and we are dead. They know they can choose a "lower paying career path" and still be comfortable, they can afford that house closer to work (so they and their partner have shorter commutes and more time with the family) and with better schools or they can use private schools if they prefer that route. That is a huge advantage for setting their path in life. Once we pay for college, set them up afterwards, give them 10 years of fully funded retirement, a downpayment for a house and fund grandkids education, they really won't "need" anything else. But they will get more along the way and when we die.
But I'd rather give it when we are alive and it matters most to them. But you cannot do that until you are fiscally sound yourself. Until you are 100%+ set for retirement and long term medical care for you and your spouse, you shouldn't be giving away funds to kids/grandkids, IMO.
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