Why Everyone Should Write A Will, even if you are not a Millionaire!

Maybe you are not royalty, or have a fortune, but look at what happened when the Artist Formerly known as “Prince” died without a Will. First, the IRS determined that he owed an additional Eighty Million Dollars in tax! To add insult to injury, he did not name his heirs in his Will. The law determined who his heirs would be. It is his six siblings that he did not select and may not have even chosen if he had written a Will. They are his default heirs under State law, which is also the same in Pennsylvania, where the State designates who your heirs will be if you do not write a Will. They are lucky. Perhaps they should be delighted that they were selected even though some of them did not even have a relationship with the Decedent! are increasingly unhappy. However, they are increasingly unhappy because the estate has been paying out tens and millions of dollars to lawyers and various consultants because Prince did not write a Will before he died.

Moreover, since Prince did not select an Executor and designate not only a first choice but a backup Executor in his Will, the Court selected an Administrator to serve. The bank and trust company selected has been charged by the IRS for another 32.4 Million Dollars owed which is double the tax bill based on their initial valuation. Perhaps if Prince had selected and designated an Executor in his Will, he would have selected a trusted individual or corporation so the Estate could be settled without protracted litigation and fees generated that reduce the size of the estate.

In the interim, his case cannot be settled until taxes are paid and the Estate is properly valued. The Administrator is counter suing the IRS which will also delay distribution and diminish the size of the Estate.

Even if you do not have an Estate comparable to Prince’s which is estimated as varying from One Hundred Million to Three Hundred Million Dollars, planning can save money for you and your beneficiaries in your Will. Our Office is available for initial consultations to assess and advise you on how best to plan so that you can preserve your wealth for your beneficiaries, and be treated like a Prince!