Anyone ever heard of Howard Hughes? While his net worth at the time of his death is unknown, what is known is that it was in the millions, and his massive estate went to various distant relatives which I’m sure is not what he wanted. There are a lot of celebrity examples of not properly planning for what is inevitable. Even for the rich and famous. What’s the saying nothing in life is guaranteed but death and taxes.

We often get asked why we need a will or trust. While most people aren’t going to be leaving behind millions it’s important to put your wishes down in writing. People tend to think if estate planning for the wealthy, but everyone should have some kind of estate planning done. You’ve worked hard for whatever you are leaving behind. Don’t leave it up to the state to determine how to distribute your estate. And if you have worked really hard, or you are extremely lucky, you’ll have an estate large enough to get hit with the estate tax.

The wills and trusts we do are relatively simple, and we like it that way. What’s the point of doing planning that you and your family won’t understand? Form should follow function. You could go online and find plenty of simple wills or trusts. Utah is a do it yourself state, and there is nothing wrong with that. If you do hire an attorney to do your estate planning you aren’t paying for the fancy forms (although I’m sure plenty of attorneys do charge for that), what you are really paying for is their expertise and experience. So whatever you decide to do just do something. And if you do hire an attorney, ask questions, get your monies worth! Don’t be fooled by fancy gold lettering or packaging.