One Final Long Distance Dedication

Whenever you see an estate or probate attorney being interviewed on CNN, you can almost guarantee a celebrity has died and the estate plan is a mess.  One of the most recent stories has been the tragic last days and eventual death of radio icon Casey Kasem.

The Kasem family first surfaced in the news when there was an apparent dispute between his wife and his children regarding his care.  It even rose to the level of his wife hurling uncooked meat at his children.  If you practice law in this area, you are not surprised (even by the beefy projectiles).  These types of family matters can be incredibly emotional, especially when there is a blended family.

Prior to his death, one of Casey’s daughters was successfully appointed as the conservator of his estate, which is a court appointed person designated to care for a person who can no longer care for themselves.

The Kasem tragedy can teach the rest of us some valuable estate planning lessons.  The emotions and potential problems are not lessened for non-celebrities.  If anything, things may be even more extreme as there is no fear of media spotlight and subsequent public embarrassment.

When planning your estate, it is not enough to plan for the distributions of your assets at death.  Whereas this type of planning is vital, a Will alone is an incomplete estate plan.  It is just as important to plan for sickness and disability and take steps while you have capacity to outline a plan about what will happen when you no longer do.

The post One Final Long Distance Dedication appeared first on Carney Dye, LLC.