Your Estate Plan Is Doomed | Why Your Trust Will Fail | What Everybody Knows And No One Will Tell You
Why People Do Estate Planning
Nobody likes estate planning. Estate planning is like castor oil when you were a kid. You had to take it. It was supposed to be good for you. Not sure how or why. But it was unpleasant.
Like insurance, but worse. With insurance, you must have coverage. Just in case. Same with estate planning. You do not want to, you are not sure why you have to, but you must.
If you are like most folks, you do the estate planning because:
1. You have stuff now. House, money, investments.
2. You know you will die. At some point.
3. You think you will have some leftover stuff when you die.
4. You like some people. Spouse. Kids. Friends. Charities.
5. You do not want the government to get your stuff.
6. You want the people you like to get your stuff. Because why not?
Has anyone told you that you are likely to die without stuff? Without leftovers. Has anyone told you that long-term care will drain you dry? If there are no leftovers, why bother? Now you know. Consider yourself told.
Death Is Not The Problem
Some folks believe we will all pass over the Great Divide to the Other Side. Glorious! Other folks hold that sooner or later the organic metabolism that makes up your consciousness will cease and that will be that. Food for worms and nothing more. There are many variations on this basic theme.
Death is not your main problem. Those who survive you will figure out what to do with your remains. And whatever is left of your stuff. This can be done well or poorly. Mostly poorly.
Great families make great plans. Truth to tell, it is not that hard to do it right. But you are not going to see it anyway. Not really your primary problem.
Life Is The Problem
In the Army, I often heard (and often repeated) that, “There are no problems, just opportunities to excel!” Your life is your opportunity. And middle-class folks like you tend to make the most of the gift. That is great. You are independent. You did the work. You get to make choices. Until you cannot.
If you are like most people, you think that tomorrow will be like today. Pretty much. You handled things today. You will handle things tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. But that is not accurate. For most of us, at some point, we will not be able to carry on as we have. That is the castor-oil reality. And most estate planning has nothing, zero, zip, zilch to help you deal with this new, inevitable situation.
LifePlanning™ Is The Solution
LifePlanning™ is focused on you here and now. How do you maintain your independence? How can you stay in control and in charge for as long as humanly possible? Your freedom is what planning should be all about.
The Secret Truth: LifePlanning™ Is Like Hearing Aids
Why do folks buy hearing aids? Did you know that the #1 reason has nothing to do with chirping birds or adjusting the TV volume? The real reason is something no one will admit. It is kind of embarrassing. That is how you know it is true. Folks buy hearing aids because if you cannot hear, your kids will believe that you cannot think. And that is the first step to the kids “helping” you to give up your freedom. The first step to “we can’t trust mom and dad with the kids.”
The real reason for LifePlanning™ is to keep your edge. You do not need lectures. You do not need to hear how nice it is to live at Shady Acres. You do not need another Shady Acres brochure. You want to keep your home. And live there. And you might need some help with that. LifePlanning™ is how to get the help to keep your independence.
Your Trust Will Fail
You went the extra mile. Spent the extra dollars. Got the big binder. Got a trust. Everything is all good now, right? Not so fast.
Everybody knows that trusts fail. Almost all the time. Your financial advisor, insurance agent, banker, accountant. They all know that you will not re-title your assets to the trust. Sure, you will get some stuff in there. Maybe. Most folks have very little in the trust. One survey says 96% of trusts do not avoid probate.
The Institute for Continuing Legal Education gives out certificates to attorneys who want to practice estate planning. Including trust planning. Lawyers who want to be certified must take a whole raft of courses to get that piece of paper. When asked recently about the problem of trusts that do not avoid probate, the instructor was clear. “That is what the pour over will is for. No problem.”
Think about this. The instructor is a highly qualified and experienced estate planning attorney. Partner in a huge, prestigious multi-state law firm. This person is teaching would-be estate planning attorneys that going through probate is no big deal. Did you think that the whole point of the trust was to avoid probate? Whoops. Besides, probate is not that bad… they say…
Your LifePlan™ Will Not Fail
LifePlanning™ means your funding coach works with you to get the job done. To help make sure that your assets are safely in the appropriate trust. It is not easy. It takes time. Two months on average. But there are no shortcuts. No easy way out. And everyone knows it.
LifePlanning™ Is The Solution
LifePlanning™ is the way you keep your stuff. And at the same time, qualify for the government benefits you have earned. Focused on you here and now. By acting early, rather than waiting until the last minute, you will qualify for benefits that may mean you never need residential long-term care. Let’s face it, who can afford the $9000-$12,000 to $15,000 per month costs of skilled nursing? Even a little at home care is ruinously expensive at $30 – $50 per hour.
LifePlanning™ gets you what you have earned. Assistance to stay at home. Health care that keeps you healthy, active, engaged with your grandkids. Free to be your best self.
LifePlanning™ Prevents Tragedy
Nothing is more tragic than one spouse dying while caring for the other. The other spouse now faces institutional care. Which their spouse sacrificed everything to avoid. And that is what happens 40-50% of the time. LifePlanning™ supports the caregiver as well as the disabled spouse. Getting necessary benefits. Staying home. Maximizing potential. Living life to the full.
I Don’t Want Government Help!
Middle-class folks are independent do-it-yourself types. Government hand-out? Perish the thought! Understandable. But.
Government demands taxes. You pay taxes. You never thought you would see any of that money again, right? No return on that investment. This is a return on that investment. Unusual times.
That is the LifePlan™ approach to estate planning and elder law. You paid in, why shouldn’t you be paid back? If you need it. When you need it? Learn more. You can do this.
Secure Your Independence Today… Get Started
COVID flaring up again. Isolation for holidays. Merry Christmas? What are we waiting for? Isn’t today is the best time to plan? Begin by calling the LifePlan™ Hotline: 800-317-2812.
Get Information You Need: Your Life, You Choose!
COVID has not gone away. New challenges arise daily. The risks to your freedom to choose, to your ability to keep what you have earned and built have not gone away. And neither have we. It is your stuff… protect it. And yourself. With complete control. LifePlanning™ means your choices matter, whatever life brings.
How can LifePlanning™ protect your middle-class life savings? How to get this information?
Are you like thousands of Michigan families who played by the rules and earned homes, cottages, farms, lifesavings? Would you like the rules to work for you, for a change? Why wait until it is too late?
GET ANSWERS NOW… CALL THE LIFEPLAN™ HOTLINE
(800) 317-2812
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