It sounds cliché but time really does pass in the blink of an eye, especially when you have kids.
In some ways it seems like yesterday that my husband exclaimed, “She’s only one inch shy of a keeping grouper!,” after our daughter was born and the nurse announced her weight and length.
Now, both of our kids are “grown and flown.”
Jill will soon be wrapping up her year of backpacking overseas. And our son is traveling overseas for his work. Their paths crossed on the other side of the world a few weeks ago and they called us to check in. My heart was bursting with love and pride for both of them.
Andrew and I first completed our own estate plans after Jill was born. We had lots of decisions to make at that time.
Who would make the best guardian for our daughter?
Who should manage her inheritance should something happen to us?
Who would we want making decisions on OUR behalf should we become incapacitated ourselves?
Then, our son was born a couple of years later and we had to re-evaluate our plan again to ensure that all of the decisions we previously made still made the most sense for our current situation.
Initially, we incorporated inheritance trusts into our estate plans for our children until they were older.
Recently, we updated our estate plans so that our kids will receive any inheritance from us outright rather than having a third-party manager over the assets.
But that’s just us and our situation and desires. Many of our clients want ongoing management of their children’s inheritances until the kids are much older and that’s ok too.
What many folks get stuck on is this unrealistic belief and expectation that they will make perfect decisions about their estate plan today to cover every possible contingency in the future.
Of course, this is an impossible feat which is why My Pink Lawyer® recently launched its Client Care Program to ensure ongoing review and updates to your estate plan. Complimentary annual reviews of your estate plan and free or discounted fees for updates are included with the program.
Knowing that we will be reviewing your plan and your current situation again in a year takes the pressure off of making the “perfect” decisions today.
Instead, we can focus on making sound decisions today based on your current situation that will get us through the next year or two. Then, in a year, we will re-evaluate the plan again and make updates as appropriate.
Of course, we will account for common contingencies with your plan but knowing you will re-evaluate your plan in a year or two takes the pressure off of making perfect design decisions in the initial estate planning meeting.
There is a quote on the wall of our office lobby attributable to General George Patton: “A good plan implemented TODAY is better than a perfect plan implemented tomorrow.”
My Pink Lawyer® could not agree more.
Kristen “Guiding Folks to Make Sound Planning Decisions” Marks
Founder, My Pink Lawyer®
P.S. Visit our website to learn more about our Client Care Program. Reach out to us via email at info@mypinklawyer.com or call (850) 439-1191 to get enrolled today!
