Scenario
When Jane’s mother passed away, she knew she would get a good share of the estate that her mother had grown over the years. She knew that the mother had real estate and money in the bank.
When the will was finally read out, she was surprised to discover that the mother hadn’t left her anything – everything went to their stepbrother.
She consulted the lawyer to know how she could get a share of the estate from the sibling that had warmed his way into the heart of the mother. What she didn’t know is that the beneficiary had scammed the mother out of her estate!
There is a lot of information that tells you about how to protect your inheritance so that you don’t get scammed, but sadly very few people make use of it. Today we look at a few ways to protect your inheritance not only from your parents but from any person that you expect to leave an estate to you.
Don’t Stay Away
Many children end up being shocked when they find that their patent ended up changing a will to a beneficiary that they don’t know.
If you see your parent once every few months and there is someone else who sees them every weekend, then you will be in for a shock.
Our parents cherish the love that we give them when they are in their sunset years. We have seen cases where the entire estate was left to a gardener or a cleaning lady just because they were there when the person needed them. You were not present.
So, if your loved one needs assistance when they are old, you should make time and be there for them. Don’t force your parent to rely on strangers to take care of them when you are alive.Document Their Wishes
Try and make sure you have the wishes of your parents on paper. If your parent tells you that they wish to have their estate distributed among the kids equally, and you don’t use the chance to document this, then you will be in for a rude shock. Even an attorney won’t help you out.
What you need to do is to ask your parent questions when they tell you that they want something to happen. Try and probe him to get more information regarding the estate. You then get some witnesses and let your dad document his wishes on paper.
You can even ask an estate planning attorney to come in and help handle the situation for you.Find out What Exists, and Where it is Located
When your parent is in his sunset years, take time to find out what they own and where it is located. Let them tell you how the various estates are titled and what needs to be done before it is too late.
You need to put aside your shyness and talk to your parents. Try to tell them why you are asking all the questions so that they don’t feel as if you want them to die now. Let them know that you are asking the questions because you don’t want their assets to fall into the wrong hands.
You also need to ask the questions because you don’t want your parents to get scammed by someone that isn’t part of the family.Convince Your Parents to Talk to an Estate Planning Lawyer
When people get old, they become reluctant to talk to lawyers. They feel that it is a waste of time and money. Instead, they wish to write down their wishes and save the money that they end up using as fees.
The sad thing is that the wills that are made from home won’t be valid unless they have some clauses. Try and talk to your parents into talking to a lawyer.
The lawyer will review the documents and then advice your parents on what to do. The lawyer will also go step by step to understand what the parents want and put this in writing.
Remember a will needs to be prepared in front of two witnesses to make it valid. The lawyer makes sure everything that needs to happen does so the right way.In Closing
When you sit back and wait for your dad or mum to come up with a will, you might get shocked. What you need to do is to make sure you help them to come up with the best estate plan.
