• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
< class="site-title" itemprop="headline">Flood & Masiuk LLC | Southampton Estate Planning Attorneys

Attorneys At Law

  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • About The American Academy
    • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • Speaker Connection
  • Estate Planning
    • Asset Protection and Business Planning
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Incapacity Planning
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning Services
    • Trust Administration and Probate
  • Elder Law
    • Are You A Caregiver?
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
      • Elder Law Reports
    • Estate Planning Resources
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Needs Checklist
      • Estate Planning Reports
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning FAQ’s
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning FAQs
      • Trust Administration & Probate FAQs
    • LGBTQ Resources
    • Newsletters
    • Special Needs Resources
    • Trust Administration & Probate Resources
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss of a Loved One
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
Home / Estate Planning Articles / Estate Planning Without a Crystal Ball

Estate Planning Without a Crystal Ball

March 31, 2011 by Marianne Flood, Estate Planning Attorney

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 youve passed away. If youre a parent, its likely that youll 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 youre 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, lets 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 familys 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 familys 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 childrens personalities and preferences, Anne and Peter decide that ultimately theyll 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. Theyve 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 hasnt 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 theyve started families of their own. This is why its 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 Marianne Flood, Estate Planning Attorney

As the founder and managing partner of the Southampton, Pennsylvania law firm of Flood & Masiuk, LLC, Marianne Flood oversees a practice devoted to providing clients with personalized service and counsel in all aspects of estate planning.

Primary Sidebar

Is Your Plan Outdated?

Change is inevitable! See if your plan is outdated and if you need to take action to protect your loved ones.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Flood & Masiuk LLC | Southampton Estate Planning Attorneys

112 Lakeside Park
Southampton, PA 18966
Phone: (215) 322-6330
Fax: (215) 322-9199

MAP

map for Flood & Masiuk LLC office

Opening Hours

Monday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Footer

  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.

All Rights Reserved.
Attorney Advertisement

footer-logo
  • fb
  • twitter
  • linked-In