National Legal Expert Reveals Top 3 Reasons Why 90% of Estate Plans Will Fail When Families Need Them and What You Can Do About It
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National Legal Expert Reveals Top 3 Reasons Why 90% of Estate Plans Will Fail When Families Need Them and What You Can Do About It
Even with the help of an attorney, 90% of estate plans will fail when they are needed, according to national legal expert and bestselling author, Alexis Martin Neely. And while the affected families may cry malpractice, this is business as usual under the current broken legal business model.
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 24 — According to legal expert and bestselling author, Alexis Martin Neely, 90% of estate plans are doomed to fail at the end of a person’s life for three basic reasons- 1) failure to keep the plan up to date as life and the law changes, 2) failure to ensure assets are owned in the right way and 3) failure to pass down values in addition to valuables.
Contrary to popular belief, estate planning is not merely about completing a set of documents on the internet or a one-time transaction with a lawyer. Unfortunately, this belief is perpetuated by a faulty legal system and as a result, families are blindsided when their loved one is hospitalized or dies and the plan they thought they could rely on falls apart before their eyes.
“In most cases, the burden of transferring assets into the correct names and keeping the plan up to date rests on the client,” says Martin Neely. “Yet, most people don’t understand what they need to do and their lawyers are not properly educating them, leaving them with a false sense of security. As a result, families are left with a big mess on their hands, no matter how much their loved one spent on estate planning during their lifetime.”
According to Martin Neely, finding an attorney who has a structure in place to take their clients beyond the one-time documents set-up phase to ensure the plan stays up to date and assets are owned in the right way is one of the greatest challenges for families seeking to avoid this problem. She explains that life-long relationships and holistic legal care are burdensome and costly to lawyers who are stuck using a broken business model that rewards shoddy planning practices and doesn’t incentivize ongoing relationships.
“Clients think because they’ve found a lawyer who bills flat fee, as most estate planning lawyers do now, that they are doing the smart thing for their family,” says Martin Neely. “What they don’t realize though is that the flat-fee, all paid up front model hooks lawyers on receiving large chunks of quick revenue that leaves the lawyers without a financial incentive for continuing communication and service.”
Similarly, this incentive to move on to the next new client as quickly as possible directly impacts the primary reason why most estate plans fail, which is the failure to handle assets – both tangible and intangible assets, such as values – properly.
“In most cases, people who think they have their estate planning handled, do not own their assets in the right way. This is exactly why you saw Michael Jackson’s family in Court so much already. Had Jackson’s lawyers done the right thing by him and his family, nearly everything could have been handled in private without Court involvement. And, almost no estate plans take into account what most people say are their most valuable assets – their values, insights, stories and experience.” explains Martin Neely
Martin Neely recommends the following 3 steps to ensure you don’t end up with the false security of an estate plan destined to fail your family:
Review your estate planning documents at least annually and incorporate in life and law changes.
Review the title on each of your assets at least annually and ensure all assets are owned in the name of your Trust.
Establish a relationship with a lawyer while you are of sound mind and body and ensure your lawyer has documented your wishes regarding end of life care and worked with you to capture and pass on your values, not just your financial assets.
About Alexis Martin Neely
Alexis Martin Neely has been called America’s Favorite Lawyer. As the CEO and founder of the Family Wealth Planning Institute, Alexis is revolutionizing the way legal services are provided to families and small business owners throughout North America.
The bestselling author of Wear Clean Underwear! A fast, fun, friendly – and essential – guide to legal planning for busy parents and a regular legal commentator for CNBC, CNN, and FOX, you may have also seen Alexis featured on the Today Show, Fox and Friends, O’Reilly Factor, or View From the Bay. You may have heard her on Oprah & Friends radio, NPR and on local stations across America.
Booking/Interview Information:
Amber Watson-Tardiff
Public Relations Coordinator, Family Wealth Planning Institute
(866) 999-3974/ amber@familywealthmatters.com
