5 Estate Planning Mistakes Milwaukee Parents Still Make

Plan Children’s Inheritances | Choose the Right People | Name Backup Choices | Talk About Your Plan | Organize Important Information | Beyond Basic Estate Planning

Creating a will is an important step for parents, but having estate planning documents does not mean every decision has been covered. Some of the easiest mistakes to miss involve how money will be managed, who will take on important roles, and whether your family knows what to do.

Milwaukee parents can avoid many of these problems by looking beyond the basic documents. A clear estate plan should help the people you trust understand their roles and give your family useful direction when they need it.

Key Takeaways

• Think beyond who receives your property. Parents should also consider how an inheritance will be managed for minor children and who should be responsible for that money.
• Choose people based on the job they will perform. Your guardian, Personal Representative, trustee, and agents do not always need to be the same person, and backup choices are important.
• Make your estate plan easy for your family to use. The right people should know they have been chosen and where important documents and information can be found.

Mistake #1: Leaving an Inheritance Directly to Minor Children

Parents naturally want their children to receive what they leave behind. But simply saying that everything should go to your children does not answer an important question: Who will manage that money while they are young?

Minor children cannot simply take control of a large inheritance and manage it themselves. Parents should think about how money will be handled and who they trust to manage it until their children are old enough.

A trust may be useful for some families. It can provide instructions about how assets should be managed and used for children, including expenses related to their health, education, and support.

Parents can also think about when children should eventually receive control of remaining assets. You may not want a child receiving a large inheritance all at once simply because they reach a particular age.

The goal is not just to leave money to your children. You also want a clear plan for taking care of that money until they are ready to manage it themselves. Our guide to what happens to minor children without a will in Wisconsin explains why planning ahead is so important for parents.

Mistake #2: Choosing the Same Person for Every Role

Estate planning involves several different responsibilities. Parents sometimes choose the person they trust most and put that person’s name everywhere without thinking about whether they are the right choice for each job.

The person you nominate as guardian for your children may be wonderful with kids but uncomfortable managing money. Someone who is organized and financially responsible may be a great Personal Representative or trustee but may not be the person you would want making healthcare decisions for you.

Think about each role separately. Ask what the person would actually be expected to do and whether their skills, personality, location, and family situation make sense for that responsibility.

For parents, choosing a guardian is often the hardest decision. Your guardian choice should focus on who you trust to care for your children rather than who happens to be best at managing financial matters. Our article on how to choose a legal guardian for your minor children can help you think through factors such as family relationships, parenting values, location, and willingness to serve.

A Milwaukee estate planning attorney can also help you understand the different roles in your plan. You may decide one person can handle several responsibilities, but that should be an intentional choice rather than an automatic one.

Mistake #3: Forgetting to Name Backup Choices

Choosing the right people is important, but your estate plan should not depend completely on one person always being available.

Life can change between the day you sign your documents and the day someone is asked to serve. A guardian may move across the country, an agent may develop health problems, or a Personal Representative may simply decide they cannot take on the responsibility.

That is why backup choices matter. Consider alternates for important roles when appropriate. This may include guardians, your Personal Representative, trustees, financial agents, and healthcare agents. Choosing backups does not mean you expect your first choices to fail. It simply gives your plan another option if circumstances change.

Mistake #4: Never Talking About Your Estate Plan

Estate planning is personal, and you do not have to tell your entire family every detail. However, keeping the whole plan secret can create problems too.

Imagine naming your sister as guardian without ever asking whether she would be willing to raise your children. Or imagine choosing a friend as your Personal Representative without telling that person where your documents are located.

Important people should generally know that you have selected them for a role. This gives them an opportunity to ask questions and tell you if they are uncomfortable taking on the responsibility.

Parents should also talk with each other about the plan. Both spouses should understand who has been selected for important roles, how the children’s inheritance would be managed, and where estate planning documents are stored.

These conversations do not need to become a large family meeting. Sometimes a simple conversation with the people directly involved is enough. If you are unsure how much information to share, our guide on how to talk to your family about your estate plan offers practical ways to start the discussion.

Mistake #5: Making Important Documents Hard to Find

You can spend time creating a thoughtful estate plan and still leave your family with a major problem if nobody knows where the documents are. Your family should know that an estate plan exists and where important originals can be found. At minimum, your spouse and another trusted person should have enough information to know where to begin.

This does not mean leaving passwords or sensitive financial information somewhere unsafe. Create a secure system that allows the right people to find the information they need when necessary.

Your estate planning attorney’s contact information can also be helpful. If your family finds your estate planning documents but has questions about what happens next, knowing who prepared them gives them somewhere to start.

Our guide on where you should store your will explains some of the issues families should consider when deciding where to keep important estate planning documents.

Look Beyond the Basic Estate Planning Documents

A good estate plan does more than put names on legal documents. It considers how those people will actually carry out your wishes and whether they will have the information they need.

Parents should think about who will manage an inheritance for their children, whether different people are better suited for different roles, and who can serve as a backup. Talking with the people you choose and organizing important information can also make the plan much easier to use.

At Margerie Lawn in Wauwatosa, we help parents in Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, Brookfield, Elm Grove, and nearby communities create practical estate plans for their families. We can also review an existing plan to identify decisions or details that may have been overlooked.

If you are looking for a Milwaukee estate planning attorney, our team can help you think beyond the basic documents and build a plan that gives your family clearer direction.