Hello,
When I worked in my dad’s office in NC a couple came in one day, and in the course of our meeting they told us that they have pet squirrels. I’m a curious person, so I had to ask questions.
The couple said that they look for young squirrels and essentially take them from their nest. Have you seen the long teeth those tree rats have? Or how about those claws that I’m sure are sharp as razor blades? Not for me!
Apparently, another unique pet to have is a tortoise. From the Wall Street Journal, “Snoop Dogg, the tortoise, arrived by mail when Will Beger was around nine years old. The baby reptile was about the size of a baseball. Beger, an artist, is now 29, and Snoop Dogg weighs more than 100 pounds. ‘It’s kind of like having a pet dinosaur,’ said Beger, who visits Snoop Dogg at his parents’ house in Phoenix.” Snoop Dogg pictured below.
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The rub is that Snoop Dog may live another 130 years or until 2153. What happens when the tortoise outlives you, your children and your grandchildren? Believe it or not there are law firms that specialize in pet estate planning.
From WSJ, “The number of people who leave money in their wills for pets has gone up for all species, according to a survey of pet owners by the American Pet Products Association, an industry group. Among owners of turtles and tortoises surveyed the number went from 11% to 18% between 2018 and 2022, though it is far smaller than the nearly half who have named a guardian.” I love my dog. He’s a great companion but I think the turtle game is out for me.
It's certainly a dynamic that we should respect going into it if we adopt pets that may outlive us. Speaking of respect, do you remember the 1967 Aretha Franklin hit titled Respect? Unfortunately, she passed away in 2018 and she passed without a formal will. She had written out two versions of how she wanted her estate to be distributed, which has led to fighting amongst her children. So much contention that two of her sons went to court in Michigan recently to decide which will was valid.
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It's certainly a dynamic that we should respect going into it if we adopt pets that may outlive us. Speaking of respect, do you remember the 1967 Aretha Franklin hit titled Respect? Unfortunately, she passed away in 2018 and she passed without a formal will. She had written out two versions of how she wanted her estate to be distributed, which has led to fighting amongst her children. So much contention that two of her sons went to court in Michigan recently to decide which will was valid.
I think Amelia, below, is finally learning that nobody's memory is longer than a pencil. Document. Document. Document! :)
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Aretha left a 2010 version and a 2014 version. From the Morning Brew, “Both documents split Franklin’s royalties among her children and require the three competing brothers to support her fourth son, who has a disability. But the wills differ on who gets her personal property and who takes charge of the estate. Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin are vying for the 2014 document, which names Kecalf as executor and leaves him with his mother’s house, cars, jewelry, and the fur coats she’d famously let slide off her shoulders onstage. Franklin’s third son, Ted White II, favors the 2010 will that names him as executor and bars Kecalf and Edward from their inheritances until they get business degrees or certificates.” Ultimately, the court decided the 2014 will was valid and respected her wishes.
Amelia and Ansley came by the office this week to draw artwork on my whiteboard!
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Nobody wants a situation like that after they’ve passed, and by taking simple steps you can often prevent arguments over who gets your things.
Nearly everyone we meet with needs some sort of estate planning documents, and this is especially the case as our net worth increases. While I am not an attorney, we are allowed to explain how estate planning documents work and why they are important. I encourage you to speak to a competent estate planning attorney about your situation.
Obviously, a will allows you to put in writing where you’d like for your possessions to go after you pass. It’s straightforward. The other documents that sometimes get overlooked are powers of attorney. They help us while we are still alive in the event that we are incapacitated or no longer able to make decisions for ourselves.
Typically, you’d have a financial power of attorney that would assist if you were no longer able to manage your financial affairs and you’d have a healthcare power of attorney to cover your medical decisions. When it comes to the latter, a competent attorney will ask you a series of very complex questions about what your end-of-life wishes are. Things like how long you’d want to be kept alive in a vegetive state.
It’s important to consider these things and have them in writing because it may relieve your power of attorney or children from having to guess at what your wishes may be. When the onus is left on the kids, they may have to fret about whether they made the right decision. In my view, estate planning is a way of showing your beneficiaries that you love them.
Also, doing estate planning has the benefit of making the probate process less cumbersome or possibly removing it altogether. I realize this isn’t necessarily a fun thing to think about but estate planning is an important spoke on our financial planning wheel. If this spoke isn’t true it may cause us to have unnecessary disruptions in other parts of our lives.
Until next week,
David C. Treece,
Financial Planner
864.641.7955
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Clients Excel, LLC is an independent financial services firm that utilizes a variety of investment and insurance products. Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Clients Excel, LLC are not affiliated companies. Neither the firm nor its agents or representatives may give tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult with a qualified tax professional for guidance before making any purchasing decisions. Clients Excel, LLC is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. Clients Excel, LLC has a strategic partnership with tax professionals and attorneys who can provide tax and/or legal advice. 05.10.2023 |
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