• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Our Promise to You During COVID-19/Coronavirus
    • Home
    • Our Firm
      • About Our Firm
      • Attorney and Staff Profiles
      • Speaker Connection
    • Services
      • Asset Protection & Business Planning
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
      • Estate Planning Services
      • Financial Planning Assistance
      • Incapacity Planning
      • IRA & Retirement Planning
      • Legacy Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Probate
      • SECURE Act
      • Special Needs Planning
      • Wills & Trusts
    • Elder Law
      • Coping with Alzheimer’s
      • Guardianship and Conservatorship
      • Medicaid Crisis Planning
      • Medicaid Planning
    • Seminars
    • Webinars
    • Resources
      • Elder Law Resources
        • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
        • Elder Law Reports
      • Estate Planning Resources
        • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
        • Estate Planning Articles
        • Estate Planning Definitions
        • Estate Planning Reports
          • Advanced Estate Planning
          • Basic Estate Planning
          • Estate Planning for Niches
          • Trust Administration
        • Estate Planning Worksheet
        • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Free Consultation
      • Free Estate Planning Seminars
      • Frequently Asked Questions
        • Estate Planning FAQs
        • Trust Administration & Probate FAQs
      • Newsletters
      • Our Client Care Program
      • Pre Consultation Form
      • Professional Resources
        • Educational Alerts
    • Reviews
      • Our Reviews
      • Review Us
    • Contact Us
    • Blog

    McGee Law Firm

    Your Resource for Estate Planning, Elder Law and Medicaid / VA Planning

    Call Us Today 817-899-3286
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    Attend a Free Seminar
    Attend a Free Webinar
    Estate Planning Webinar
    Nursing Home Webinar
    Home / Estate Planning Articles / Estate Planning Without a Crystal Ball

    Estate Planning Without a Crystal Ball

    March 31, 2011 by Brandon McGee

    Compliments of Our Law Firm,
    By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

    One of the primary reasons for planning your estate is to make sure that your assets go where you want them to after you’ve passed away. If you’re a parent, it’s likely that you’ll want to use your estate plan to make sure your children are provided for. Many people choose to use their Will or their Living Trust to leave a lasting legacy to a favorite nonprofit or charitable cause.

    If you’re not careful, though, you can end up with an estate plan that is short-sighted. It is easy to plan your estate based only on your current circumstances but, as the old saying goes, “change is the only constant.” Since none of us has a crystal ball, establishing a plan that accommodates future changes can be a tricky undertaking.

    For example, let’s take a look at the estate plan of Anne and Peter, a forty-something couple with two children. Their son, James, is ten years old and his favorite place in the world is the family’s beach house. Every year, he brings a friend along with him on the family beach vacation… it never fails to be the highlight of his year. Their daughter, Emily, on the other hand, is happiest at the family’s suburban home. She is thirteen, and, unlike many girls her age, she is not a fan of the beach. She has always stayed close to the nest, and likes to be at home where her friends are near.

    Considering their children’s personalities and preferences, Anne and Peter decide that ultimately they’ll leave the beach house to James, and the family home to Emily. After all, the two properties have about the same value, and this division of assets seems to best suit their children.

    Fast-forward twenty years, though, and the picture looks a little different. Emily and James are all grown up. Emily is married with two children of her own, and her young family considers the beach house their home away from home. They’ve spent countless hours there, making memories. James, on the other hand, is a world traveler. He makes it home to visit his parents once a year, and he hasn’t been to the beach house in a decade. To further complicate things, the two properties are no longer the same value. The beach house is now worth about twice as much as the family home.

    When you are planning your estate, it is important to remember that circumstances rarely stay the same over long periods of time. A plan that worked for your family when the kids were little may very well be obsolete by the time they’ve started families of their own. This is why it’s important to ensure that you build flexibility into your plan. For example, rather than stating simply that Emily was to inherit the family home and James was to inherit the beach house, Anne and Peter could have created a plan dividing their assets equally between Emily and James. However, Emily could be given the option to buy the family home and James could be given the option to buy the beach house. This is one example of how an estate plan can be given some wiggle room to accommodate changed circumstances.

    Even without a crystal ball, a qualified estate planning attorney can help you put a plan in place that can adapt to change and serve your family through the years.

    About Brandon McGee

    Brandon McGee enjoys a successful law practice focusing on estate planning, elder law, Medicaid preplanning and crisis planning, and probate. Brandon and his team combine legal skills with compassion and understanding to develop estate plans that are personalized to the needs of each of their clients.

    Primary Sidebar

    FREE ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHEET

    There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Follow us

    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube

    TESTIMONIALS

    -Rebecca Javins
    Client Review
    September 2, 2020
        

    I am so glad I was fortunate enough to be referred to Brandon McGee. He listened to my needs and developed an estate plan that is comprehensive and addresses all my needs and concerns. I highly recommend him and his firm. I sleep much better now knowing everything is in place.

    default image
    -Rebecca Javins

    Fort Worth Address

    Fort Worth
    810 W. 10th Street
    Fort Worth, TX 76102
    United States (US)
    Phone: (817) 899-3286
    See Larger mapGet Directions

    Fort Worth Map

    map

    Southlake Address

    Southlake
    101 River Oaks Dr., Ste. 110
    Southlake, Texas 76092
    United States (US)
    Phone: (817) 899-3286
    See Larger mapGet Directions

    Footer

    • Advantages of Working With our Firm
    • About the American Academy
    • Disclaimer
    • Sitemap
    • Contact Us

    Connect to Us

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    footer logo

    © 2021 McGee Law Firm
    All Rights Reserved