Practical Lessons for Your Financial Life (Collection)

Wills and Estate Planning

This is the kind of planning that you may view as a late life need that does not apply until well into the future. This wishful thinking keeps you from having to face difficult and sensitive decisions. It almost always brings up complicated family issues, and the easiest thing to do is just put it off. But what happens when someone is suffering from an illness or dies unexpectedly? What about a divorce or a family issue involving wealth disposition among heirs? When the wills and the estate planning process are not up to date, and a critical event occurs, it is almost impossible to go back after the fact and “fix” what should have been done previously.

This happened to Thomas, an investor who had been passionately committed ...