Everyone knows estate planning is needed, but also often neglected. Just ask anyone who has gone through the probate process, it is akin to a root canal. Despite this, people often are reluctant to do their estate planning because it involves the consideration and discussion of a variety of difficult topics: mortality, cognitive health, family dynamics, and issues with children. It is the one of the topics most frequently, and conveniently ignored within families.
Because Alliance Trust in Nevada offers trustee services in the best state for asset protection trusts, we often are asked if people should discuss the mechanics of the estate plan with their family and heirs. Unless there are very specific reasons not to, we see the most success with families that communicate openly — this fact is well documented in the financial press. Communication within the family clears the uncertainty before one dies, and can prevent small disputes from turning into larger ones. As an estate lawyer notes in the article, when it comes to your estate plan, “Silence is not golden.”
