Why You Should Proactively Plan
The headline reads: Michigan mother-of-two ‘stole $200,000 from life insurance policy her teen daughters received when their father died’
The headline leaves us asking, “how did this happen and why would a mom do this?”
After reading the story, we learn that the mother was divorced from the father and then the father passes away leaving his minor children as the beneficiary on the life insurance policy. Since minors cannot inherit until 18, a conservator was appointed to manage the money. In this case, the mother was appointed and subsequently misused the money.
A great question is if this could have been avoided? Yes. The father could have created a trust to receive the life insurance proceeds upon his death. The father would have most likely chosen another individual or professional to manage the money as successor trustee until he felt like the children could inherit the funds.
This is an example of a plan that has gone horribly wrong. By doing a little proactive planning, clients can achieve the results they are looking for, namely a plan that meets their expectations. I seek to help my clients create estate plans that work.
If you have any questions or comments, you can reach me at (248) 409-0256