Most of you have heard my story. I lost my brother, father, and grandmother in that order when I was in high school. This is unusual. When planning who gets what when you die, you have to think of all the possibilities.
For the sake of the story, imagine my grandmother left a big estate and was a widow. She had two children: my dad and his sister. When she dies, her will says her money goes to her two children. My dad died first (predeceased). Her will says it goes to her grandchildren who will step into the place of a predeceased heir (per stirpes), which would leave his share to my brother and me, but my brother passed before she did. His share would go to me, or if he had children, to them.
What if everyone dies in the normal order? Grandmother dies, her estate goes to my dad and his sister. My dad’s estate would go to my mother. In this story, she remarries and leaves her estate to her new husband. My mother dies, and my brother and I get nothing. I hear you saying, “But it should have gone to you and your brother because the will says that.” It does, but the will only gives it to my brother and me if my dad dies before my grandmother.
If you want to make sure the money you inherit stays in your family, you need to plan for people dying in the normal order. You need to plan specifically for the money you inherit. If you don’t, chances are your children and grandchildren will end up with nothing.
If you want to plan for all the what-ifs, give me a call.
