Two times in the past month, I have dealt with clients who waited until the last minute to get their affairs in order, and now both situations are more complicated and costly than they needed to be. In one instance, a wife from Mandeville came to me to assist her in setting up a trust for her and her husband to avoid probate. Her husband was already in declining health, and it was a scenario where he could pass any day. Despite our best efforts to get the trust complete prior to the husband’s passing, he died the day before we were scheduled to sign the trust. Now the family must open probate for his estate and take everything through the court process. This means more time and more cost.
In the other instance, we had already set up a trust for a family in St. Charles Parish also looking to avoid probate. After establishing a trust for his mother, the son never took the steps necessary to move certain financial accounts into the name of the trust. Mom had an unexpected stroke which gave her days to live. At that point the son started scrambling to try and fund the trust with financial accounts, but when mom died a few days later the financial accounts had not yet been moved to the trust. Now the son is facing a probate for those financial accounts and admitted to me that he should not have procrastinated to fund his trust.
These stories go to show that life can throw us curve balls! Don’t procrastinate when it comes to getting your Louisiana Estate Planning in order, or you will come to regret it. Take the steps necessary and start the Estate Planning Process with a trusted firm that can streamline your estate planning so you aren’t caught wishing you had acted earlier. Take action now and call (504) 274-1980 in the Metairie and New Orleans Area or call (985) 246-3020 in Mandeville, Covington, Slidell, Houma, Thibodaux, and surrounding areas.