“You don’t have to be rich…” to have a will

Say it ain’t so, Prince.

The Morning Papers said that probate documents recently filed in Minnesota claim His Royal Badness did not have a will.

With all the effort the man went to over the years to retain control of his art and his image, I find this almost impossible to believe. It’s not just a Sign o’ the Times, it’s a sign something was very wrong.

Because estate planning is about P Control.* And we all want it, we want to keep it, we don’t want others to have it.  Especially not the courts, who know nothing about our dreams, our goals, our wishes, our values except for what someone with a stake in it tells them.

Admit it. We especially want to stay in control when we can’t do it ourselves anymore. That is why I find it hard to believe that Prince would just LetitGo. This is the reason we all need to do estate planning – you have to get it done because it’s not Automatic. Even if you are The Marrying Kind, your spouse will only have limited powers without your written consent.

If you want to be the one to make decisions about what happens with your stuff, what happens with your health, what happens with your money, you have to plan ahead and put it in writing. Make sure the keys to your vault, no matter how small or big it may be – are held by someone you trust. If nothing else, I hope you get this in your Head by the end of this blog.

In my line of work, the biggest estate planning concern I have for my clients is making sure they have the right kinds of documents to retain control during their lives, like powers of attorney for finances and health care. Without having these in place, if you are “Delirious” a judge is going to decide who makes decisions about where you live (and it probably won’t be Alphabet St.,) what kind of end-of-life treatment you will receive, and how your money will be spent. That may not be the person you would choose for yourself, and without written directives, your end-of-life preferences may go unrespected. I try very hard to make sure that does not happen to my clients. Its a lot more likely there will be Thieves in the Temple if you don’t choose people you trust, and things won’t go the way you want if you leave it up in the air.

But I get it, people also want to decide what happens to their Diamonds, and Pearls, and other hard-earned stuff after they are gone, so we do wills and trusts as well to control what happens after death.  A good lawyer probably won’t die 4 u, but if U r Willing and Able they will write a will 4 u. And even though we all don’t have a vault of music worth potentially hundreds of millions, many of us have special things that will need management or ongoing help and attention after we are gone – like family property, or a loved one with special needs such as a minor or disabled child, or a spouse on Medicaid. People who value their privacy might want these things to be taken care of the outside of the probate court system. In cases with issues like those, a trust could be the best estate planning tool. Finally, if you really want to say I Hate U to someone in particular, a will or trust is a good place to do it by leaving them out.

If you are uncomfortable talking about death and disability,  I Feel for You. A good lawyer will help you through it. Or maybe you are thinking Money Don’t Matter 2nite.  But it will matter if something happens to you and you have not chosen someone you trust to handle things – and you never know when that day will be. After all, didn’t 1999 seem like a long way away, once upon a time?

Whether you are young or old, rich or poor, gay or straight, black or white you need to get these done when you reach adulthood, which is 18 in Wisconsin. Don’t let Controversy reign over your world.

#RIPPrince – although that is sounding less and less likely if the news is true.

*Oh – P? I meant probate.