Much like your favorite birthday cake flavor, everyone likes different things when it comes to estate planning.
Well, as of March 5, I’m another year older! And to celebrate I got to have the best birthday cake in the world — spice cake with chocolate icing! What kind of cake do you request on your birthday?
In our family, everyone seems to have their own favorite. For my wife Michelle, it’s spice cake with white icing. (And she is forever trying to talk me into changing the icing on my birthday cake!) 8-year-old Bailey asks for white cake with white icing, and I’m not sure 4-year-old Cole has settled on a choice yet. My dad likes yellow cake with chocolate icing. My mom? Carrot cake with cream cheese icing. My brother, Jay, for decades requested turtle cake. (Which Michelle and I found out firsthand, does not turn out well if the recipe is copied down wrong!) Jay’s wife, Beth, likes white cake with white frosting just like Bailey.
Everyone’s got an opinion. Of course, the rest of them are all wrong! Spice cake with chocolate icing is clearly the best choice for a birthday cake.
And we haven’t even gotten to the ice cream! Some want chocolate. Some want vanilla. Others like cookie dough or cookies ‘n’ cream. We’ll save that for another blog post!
Everyone likes different things. The same choice does not work for everyone, even if they’re from the same family.
With your estate plan, you need a plan that fits your family – not a fill-in-the-blank form that doesn’t reflect your unique values, wishes, or family challenges.
And within your plan each child or loved one may have a different challenge or need that should be addressed. Don’t treat them all the same. Some want white icing. Others need chocolate. A good plan will take into account their personality, financial wisdom, and the unique situation of each heir.
If you need a more personalized (and therefore, more effective plan), our free workshop, Getting Started With Wills and Trusts is a great first step. Call us at 217-726-9200 to RSVP for the next workshop. Find out our upcoming workshop dates here. Learn more about the workshop and what you’ll learn by attending, here.