Obviously, you can’t be replaced–but your income can.

If you have young children, there’s a good chance you also have things like student loans, a mortgage, maybe a car payment, and even a credit card. On top of that, I know it’s hard to plan for your own demise. The good news is that about $20 per month can get a healthy 30-year-old female $500,000 in life insurance. (Men, at any age, have to pay a little more.)

Applying this life insurance to a trust you create in your will can make sure your children are taken care of, even if they lose you.

I can feel your skepticism already: ‘Ryan, getting life insurance is easy, I don’t need a lawyer.’

That’s true. However, dumping a bunch of money on someone and hoping your children are cared for is a bad plan (even if you give it to your parents…I’ll go into this in another post).

There are more benefits of a trust by will than I need to get into here. But you should have the key points: 1) you get to set the terms for the use of the money; 2) nobody else owns the money–it can only be used for your children; 3) there’s no probate court involvement in your trust; and 4) the cost is so low it can fit into any budget.

Your needs could be different. Call me at (517) 796-3907 and we’ll set up a time to talk about what estate planning needs you have.

You can probably guess the rules: it’s all in probate court, some (not a whole lot of) money and property may be set aside if you have a spouse and children (more if you have minor children), and the rest is available to creditors if you have any. Your family keeps whatever is left if creditors get paid. If you don’t have family, the State of Michigan could get it (but that’s rare).

To be clear, Michigan’s plan works for many people but if you want to

• Avoid estate taxes (most people don’t have to worry about this);
• Provide for succession in a family business;
• Avoid probate proceedings;
• Provide for a disabled or special needs child;
• Protect assets from creditors;
• Appoint a guardian for your minor children;
• Make charitable donations;
• Make conditional gifts, i.e., $10,000 if my son finishes his master’s degree;
• Appoint a funeral representative to carry out your final wishes;
• Specify who gets family heirlooms;
• Make plans to keep family farms or cottages in tact; or
• Give specific gifts to friends or family then

you  need to make a plan which probably includes—at least—a will.

Call me at (517) 796-3907 to set up a time to talk about your plan.

I admit this fill-in-the-blank trust could have worked for the man. If what was on the forms already fit his needs, if he prepared a deed for his home, and if he transferred all of his other assets, it could have worked. (Even had all of this necessary service been included, I suspect he still paid too much for what he got.)

My point is this: steer clear of  fill-in-the blank estate planning documents.

I know you can download any form you want for .99¢ from legalcheap.com (I made that website up, don’t look for it) but what you save up front can and will come back to cost you in the end.  Legalcheap.com (again, made up) can’t provide you with experience, expertise, or personalized guidance.

I admit, I don’t draft every will or power-of-attorney I prepare from scratch; I use a template. That template serves as a foundation for good drafting. With input from my client, that template is modified and crafted to create a tool for my client that is uniquely suited to the client’s needs. Something a form simply can’t match.

If you or a loved one have fill-in-the-blank estate planning documents, have them reviewed to make sure they are 1) functional 2) meet current needs and 3) still make sensible allocations for the future.