Paul O. Dillon, Attorney at Law

Estate Planning Is More than a Last Will and Testament

Most retirees know they should have a last will and testament. However, surprisingly few have updated wills. A recent article from msn.com, “6 Legal Documents That Most Retirees Need—but Don’t Have,” says only about 52% of retirees have a last will, and most lack other crucial documents needed to protect themselves and spare their loved ones additional grief. The documents discussed below should be part of your estate plan. If you don’t have them, consult with an estate planning attorney in your community, as they are state-specific.

Medical power of attorney or healthcare proxy. This document lets a person of your choosing make medical decisions on your behalf if you cannot. When would you need a medical POA? If you are terminally ill, seriously injured, in a coma, receive a diagnosis of dementia, or at the end of life, you need a POA. Not only does this document let you decide who will make these decisions, but it also alleviates tremendous stress, including a lifetime of second-guessing, by your loved ones.

Advanced directive or living will. You will have the opportunity to express your preferences for end-of-life care if you can’t communicate because of an illness, accident, or another condition preventing you from responding. The advanced directive doesn’t go into effect until you are unable to communicate. Use this document to express what kind of care and treatment you want and don’t want during an emergency and the exact circumstances in which you want your choices to be honored.

Financial power of attorney. People with a financial POA have chosen the person they trust most to act on their behalf when it comes to paying bills, running a household, overseeing investments, or even selling a family home. Here’s what most people don’t know about a POA: you can, and should, make it as personal as possible. If you want your sister to pay your bills but cannot make charitable donations, your POA can include this. If you don’t have a financial POA, loved ones will need to go to court and petition for guardianship, which is costly and time-consuming.

Funeral and burial arrangements. No one likes to think or talk about dying, funerals, or memorial services. However, if you don’t tell your loved ones what you want or make arrangements for yourself, loved ones or funeral homes will make those decisions for you. Whether you care about what service you have or don’t want a service at all, creating a plan will be a kindness to your family.

HIPAA waiver. Few people seem to be aware of the importance of a HIPAA waiver, which creates a lot of headaches for loved ones. If you haven’t signed a HIPAA waiver, doctors and insurance companies cannot speak with your designated person about your healthcare and insurance coverage. If you become incapacitated without a HIPAA waiver, your family won’t be able to receive updates on your care. The laws enforcing HIPAA are extremely restrictive, so this is a good document to have in place long before it’s needed.

Trusts. When you create a trust, you create a legal entity to own property, taking it out of your taxable estate. Trusts allow assets to pass directly to beneficiaries, and depending upon the type of trust you use, there are many different types, and you may gain substantial tax advantages. Your estate planning attorney will know which type of trust is best for the circumstances.

Everyone should have a last will and the aforementioned documents to protect themselves and their loved ones. Life happens, and this kind of planning is invaluable. Make an appointment to meet with an estate planning attorney to create your own estate plan. If it’s been more than three to five years since you’ve had your estate plan reviewed, it’s time to take care of it.

Reference: msn.com (Jan. 13, 2025) “6 Legal Documents That Most Retirees Need—but Don’t Have”

Living Your Best Life Solo? You Still Need an Estate Plan

Whether relying on informal networks of “found” family, trusted friends, or professionals, solo agers must plan for the inevitable aging events. A recent article, “Solo Aging: Planning for Your Best Life,” from The National Law Journal, shares the details.

Most importantly, decisions about health care and end-of-life care need to be documented as part of your estate plan, and a person you trust implicitly needs to be named in the role of your healthcare proxy. You’ll need to make sure they are comfortable in this role and willing to enact your wishes, even if they disagree with them. They will also need to have access to the estate planning documents needed, including a Healthcare Power of Attorney, Living Will, HIPAA Release and any other documents your state may require.

You’ll also want to have a Power of Attorney prepared by an experienced estate planning attorney, naming a primary and a secondary person to manage your financial and legal life if you become incapacitated. If your candidates are around the same age as you, remember they may not be able to act when you need them to, so, if possible, name younger people to serve if they cannot.

Think beyond the basics. Depending upon where you live, you may want to have a POLST (Practitioner Order on Life-Sustaining Treatment) or MOLST (Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) to state your wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment. Some people do not wish to have CPR performed on them in the event of a cardiac arrest and have a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) document.

You’ll want to have a financial care plan to address emergencies. Seniors 65 and older are nearly 70% likely to need some long-term care in the next two or three decades of their life. If you don’t already own a Long-Term Care insurance policy, it’s time to consider whether you can purchase one. These are now often sold as part of a life insurance policy.

A last will and testament is needed to direct the disposition of your possessions after you die. If you don’t have one, your state’s laws will govern who receives your assets. Even if you have a long-standing relationship with a partner or best friend, they have no legal rights to inherit your property. A distant relative may be located by the court and inherit everything you own instead.

A last will is used to name an executor to manage your estate. This person will be responsible for more than distributing your assets. They are also tasked with gathering information about financial accounts, applying for a tax ID number for your estate bank account, gathering assets and placing them into the estate bank account, paying your final taxes, notifying Social Security of your passing, and filing an estate tax return.

Today’s estate plan includes planning for digital assets, so your social media accounts, emails, online photos and videos, gaming, subscriptions, cryptocurrency, and all other digital accounts are managed.

For the solo ager, having an estate plan protects you while you are living and protects your estate after you have passed. It takes some extra steps when compared to the planning done by married people. However, the peace of mind of expressing your wishes is the same, and you deserve this.

Reference: The National Law Journal (Jan. 10, 2025) “Solo Aging: Planning for Your Best Life”

What are Best Practices for Estate Planning?

You’ll be able to avoid common problems and have a more effective estate plan by being mindful of some simple but important details, according to a recent article, “7 Estate Planning Best Practices,” from Kiplinger.

Name more than one person for essential roles in your estate plan. An executor is the person who will carry out the instructions in your will. What happens if they cannot serve or decide they don’t want to? Always make sure to name an executor and a successor executor. The same is true for your Power of Attorney, Healthcare Agent, and, if you have a Revocable Trust, your successor trustee. If most of the important people in your estate plan are around the same age as you, it’s wise to name younger people as backups.

Talk with your loved ones about where your estate planning documents can be found, including how to access them. They’ll need to be able to find them, for starters, and then learn how to open them if they are in a secure location. Don’t surprise loved ones by adding turmoil to their grief.

Talking about your estate plan includes talking about the intentions behind the estate plan. You may wish to create a letter of intention, explaining your reasoning behind the estate plan. It’s not legally enforceable, but it might preclude ambiguity and possibly prevent family disputes. If you don’t, you add the possibility of family fights, litigation and even the dissolution of family relationships over the generations. People fight about money, whether we like to acknowledge this or not.

Work with an experienced estate planning attorney who knows your state’s laws. Estate planning laws are state-specific, and someone who is a terrific attorney in Colorado won’t necessarily know the law of Texas. If you move to a different state, you’ll also need to update documents to be sure they will work in your new home.

If you’re a pet owner, don’t neglect planning for your pets. Your will can include a provision about caring for your pets and include a bequest to care for your pets. However, this is not enforceable. On the other hand, a pet trust can name a trustee to manage the funds for the pet’s benefit and name a person to serve as a caretaker.

Don’t wait until a medical emergency to give your healthcare providers copies of relevant estate planning documents. Ask your estate planning attorney and your doctor about giving your healthcare team documents like a living will, power of healthcare attorney, living will and other related documents. Most healthcare systems today have patient information portals where they can be stored.

Did you create a trust but haven’t yet funded it? If you don’t retitle your assets so they are inside of the trust, your trust won’t perform as intended. This last step has to happen for the trust to be effective.

Review your estate plan on a regular basis. Most estate planning attorneys recommend reviewing an estate plan every three to five years, and more often if there have been large “trigger” events like marriage, divorce, death, or birth. If you move to a new state, you’ll also need a review to be sure your estate is still valid in the new state.

Your estate is like your car: without regular maintenance, it will not perform well and, over time, will stop running. Call your estate planning attorney to make sure that your documents are in order for the new year.

Reference: Kiplinger (Jan. 6, 2025) “7 Estate Planning Best Practices”

Estate Planning Is Essential for Unconventional Couples

A sad story appears in a recent issue of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, “Legal-Ease: ‘How things might have been.’” It explains what happens to a couple who had lived together for three decades but never planned for each other’s illness or death.

When Bill became ill, his overbearing brother commandeered the hospital room and refused to let Bill’s companion of thirty years, Denise, visit. When Bill died, the same brother barred Denise from the funeral home. Denise was left out of Bill’s obituary and made to leave the home she and Bill had lived in for many years. The brother cleaned out the entire house. He also took the couple’s beloved dog.

Bill’s brother was well within his legal rights to do all of these things, since the couple had never done any estate planning to protect each other. There are many things that they could have done to protect each other.

Bill and Denise should have created and executed medical powers of attorney, naming each other to make medical decisions when they could not make their own decisions. This document would have given Denise the legal power to be in Bill’s hospital room and talk to his physicians. It would also have ensured Denise’s ability to visit Bill and arrange care for him either in a nursing home or at home.

They could have also used the Medical Power of Attorney to nominate each other to be appointed by a court as a guardian if ever needed, avoiding Bill’s brother’s taking control of care by a court order.

If the couple had created Living Wills stating their choices for end-of-life care, each could have made sure they knew what the other wanted and ensured their wishes were followed. For example, a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order is used to prevent healthcare providers from performing CPR on patients if they have a heart attack while incapacitated. CPR can leave patients with broken ribs and punctured lungs, and some elderly patients or those near the end of life often choose not to have CPR. Without a DNR order, healthcare providers or emergency responders must, by law, perform CPR.

At the very least, Bill and Denise should have each signed a Durable Power of Attorney, naming each other as their representative for all legal and financial matters. This would have allowed Denise to take care of Bill’s financial and business matters. Bill could have also added a provision in the POA stating that he did not want his brother to be involved.

For unmarried couples, trusts are used to provide protection for the surviving partner. For instance, if the house had been put into a trust with Denise as a trustee, Bill’s brother would not have ownership of the home, and Denise would not be unhoused.

Bill and Denise could have named each other as beneficiaries on a variety of financial accounts, including life insurance, IRA accounts and investments. Upon Bill’s death, these assets would have been paid directly to Denise.

If Bill and Denise had used wills to name each other as executors as well as heirs, they could have left all their worldly possessions to each other and served as administrators of each other’s estate. While a will is not as bullet-proof as a trust, having a will could have protected Denise from being left out in the cold.

Regardless of marital status, couples who want to take care of each other throughout their lives should meet with an estate planning attorney to protect each other. Death and incapacity aren’t limited to married couples, after all.

Reference: The Parkersburg News and Sentinel (Jan. 8, 2025) “Legal-Ease: ‘How things might have been’”

What’s the Difference Between a Living Will and Last Will and Testament?

Estate planning serves to make your wishes known, plan for the future and enjoy peace of mind knowing that you have protected yourself and your family. Young adults, unmarried people and parents juggling family and work also need an estate plan, according to a recent article from Success, “What to Consider When Making a Will—and the Difference Between a Will and a Living Will.”

A Last Will and Testament and a Living Will are essential parts of every estate plan. However, their similar names can lead to confusion. They serve two very different purposes.

A Will provides directions to be followed when administering your wishes. The will names an executor who manages the estate and distributes assets in the probate estate. A guardian for minor children is also part of a will. This is why it’s so important for parents with young children to have an estate plan, including a will. If there is no will, a court will decide who will raise the children if both parents die.

Young adults, who generally believe they are immortal, often engage in high-risk activities and travel to exotic places. They should have a will and, equally importantly, a living will. This document is used to express preferences for medical care if one is seriously ill or injured and cannot communicate their wishes.

Similarly, young adults should also have an Advance Directive or a Medical Power of Attorney so someone they choose can make decisions if they are incapacitated, whether by illness or injury.

A Power of Attorney is needed to allow someone else to handle financial and legal matters in case of incapacity. Taken together, the will, living will and advance directive allow someone else to take over for you while you are living or after you have died.

Digital assets need to be addressed for anyone with an online life—which means almost everyone, especially younger people. Access to bank accounts, utility companies, photos stored online, social media accounts and digital property is a part of contemporary life. Settling an estate without this information will be difficult, if not downright impossible.

Estate plans need to be reviewed every three to five years and when significant life events occur, like marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or a big change in financial circumstances. An experienced estate planning attorney can guide you through this process, making it far easier than expected.

Reference: Success (Dec. 23, 2024) “What to Consider When Making a Will—and the Difference Between a Will and a Living Will”

Preparing for Life With an Estate Plan

A properly prepared estate plan includes a number of legal documents giving your specific and personal instructions to healthcare providers, financial institutions and the courts in charge of validating your will and overseeing asset distribution after you die.

According to a recent article from Kiplinger, “5 Key Components of an Estate Plan—and 7 Others to Consider,” if you don’t have an estate plan, your state’s government and local courts will make many decisions for you. Worse, your loved ones will need to petition courts to do anything for you, from making healthcare and end-of-life decisions to appointing someone to raise your children or sell your home.

An estate plan is prepared by an estate planning attorney who will know the various legal documents and strategies necessary to protect you and your loved ones. An estate plan includes the following documents:

Living Will. This document expresses your wishes for medical care, with as much detail as you want. For instance, do you want to have artificial nutrition through feeding tubes or blood transfusions if you are unable to give your consent? How do you want doctors to manage end-of-life care, if your body is living but your brain functions have ceased?

Without a living will, doctors will usually take an aggressive stance to keep you alive, even if you have something else in mind. Alternatively, your loved ones might have to make these decisions without knowing what you would have wanted. Having a living will and making sure your loved ones know what you want is a gift to them. Think of the guilt they’ll live with if they don’t know your wishes.

Healthcare Power of Attorney. This POA names someone you trust to make medical decisions when you can’t convey your wishes because of incapacity. They become your healthcare proxy, speaking with your doctors and deciding on treatment for you. Without one, your loved ones won’t be able to be involved in your care without going to court and petitioning to be named healthcare proxy.

You may remember the case of Terry Schiavo, a 26-year-old woman who had a heart attack and was only kept alive through artificial means. Her husband and parents were engaged in a court battle from 1990 to 2005 when a court ruled doctors could remove a feeding tube. Most of these situations don’t make headlines but are no less painful for families.

Financial Power of Attorney. This POA names someone to manage your money, access financial accounts, manage assets and run the day-to-day finances of your life when you are incapacitated. If you don’t have a POA, the court will name someone for you, whether you would have chosen them or not.

There are different kinds of POAs. The Durable POA is in effect the moment it is executed. The Springing POA is only executed when you become incapacitated and may lead to delays. Your estate planning attorney will know which is best for your situation.

Last Will and Testament. A will outlines your instructions for distribution of assets. If you have minor children or other dependents, it names a guardian for them. It also names an executor, the person who will be in charge of managing your estate. Without a will, again, the courts will decide who should receive your assets and raise your children.

An estate plan addresses the use of trusts to distribute your assets without court involvement. If your family includes a disabled individual, your estate plan includes plans for their future. For singles and childless couples, an estate plan spells out who will be able to make financial and healthcare decisions when you cannot.

Consult with an estate planning attorney today to give yourself and your family the peace of mind you all deserve.

Reference: Kiplinger (Jan. 6, 2025) “5 Key Components of an Estate Plan—and 7 Others to Consider”

Do I Need a Living Will?

Most people have strong feelings about what kind of medical care they want if they are incapacitated but don’t know if they can put those wishes into a legally enforceable document. A living will expresses whether or not you want all means taken to save your life, to refuse medical treatment, or any steps in the middle, according to a recent article from The Wall Street Journal, “A Living Will Covers Your Most Important Asset: You.”

A last will and testament distributes assets, like real estate and investments, and directs what you want to happen after you die. A living will is a separate document addressing healthcare decision-making if you are unable to express your wishes because of being in a coma, having an accident, or being at the end stage of a terminal illness.

There’s a lot of confusion about end-of-life issues in hospitals and emergency rooms. A living will can remove almost all ambiguities.

Everyone should have both a living will and a regular will. However, only about a third of people do. Older people tend to have more living wills than younger people. However, the number of those who have both documents is far too low.

A living will can be very specific. You might want to receive artificial hydration and nutrition but not artificial respiration. You can even add whether or not you want music to be played by your bedside, or whether or not you want to have a visit by a chaplain in the hospital.

Some states have different names for these documents. However, in most states, there is one form called an advanced directive, which includes a living will. You also want to have a healthcare proxy, a document naming a person you want to make medical decisions for you. Your healthcare proxy is also the person who follows the living will directions.

People who are incapacitated and don’t have a living will create confusion and stress for loved ones. Let’s say you have three adult children, and none of them know what kind of care you want. What will they do if the doctor asks them?

Another problem is if you have a living will, but no one knows where it is except you. The living will should be with other estate planning documents. Important people in your life should know where they are located and be able to access them.

If you have a living will, your healthcare proxy should have a copy of it. Ask your doctor if they can include a copy in your patient chart or on the portal they use to communicate and share medical records.

Finally, you’ll want to keep your living will up to date. As you age or illnesses change your health, you may have different feelings about your wishes. The most recent living will with the most recent date will be the one used by medical providers.

The living will is part of your comprehensive estate plan. Like the rest of your estate plan, it is a gift to others so they know what your wishes are.

Reference: The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 2, 2024) “A Living Will Covers Your Most Important Asset: You”

Can You Make a Will in a Video?

Jesse Beck had no will at age 45. However, he did make a video in which he stated he wanted his brother Jason to inherit everything if he died. Four days after making the video, Jesse was struck and killed by a car. Not surprisingly, estate litigation ensued after his death. The Montana Supreme Court ruled that video doesn’t count as a will, according to The Wall Street Journal article, “Yes to Text Messages, No to Video: What Counts as a Will.”

Despite the article’s title, you definitely don’t want to create a testamentary document using a text. A lack of understanding about what is acceptable as a will often leaves heirs with legal disputes and huge headaches. Beck’s brother won’t inherit his estate. It will go to his daughter. He would have done far better to have a will and an estate plan.

The gold standard is a paper will prepared by an estate planning attorney who knows the state’s laws and is signed with ink—known as a “wet signature.” While some states recognize holographic wills written and signed by hand on paper, doing so puts your wishes at risk.

Nearly half of all Americans don’t have a will. Some states recognize electronic wills, and legislation is pending in a few other states. However, the electronic will must be text and not audio or video. There are growing concerns about using artificial intelligence and deepfakes to create fraudulent electronic wills or alter electronic wills without the testator or heirs being able to identify the changes.

When someone dies without a will, known as intestacy, their state’s laws determine who inherits their estate. If Jesse wanted his brother to inherit his estate, he should have had a will created with an experienced estate attorney. While his own estate may have been modest, there is a wrongful death case pending against the vehicle involved in Jesse’s fatal accident. Alexia’s inheritance may be in the millions.

Different state courts have ruled differently regarding non-paper wills. An appellate court in Michigan accepted a digital will created with a note in an Evernote app on the decedent’s mobile phone.

Montana doesn’t have an electronic or e-will statute. However, writing may be treated as valid if there is clear and convincing proof the decedent wished it to be a valid will. In a case different from the Beck matter, a Montana court rejected using a text message as a will.

The bottom line: unless you intend to subject your family to a lot of legal wrangling and spend a lot of time in court, it’s best to meet with an experienced estate planning attorney and have a will prepared. You’ll also want to speak with the attorney about related documents, including Power of Attorney, Healthcare Proxy, Living Will and, if applicable, Trusts.

Reference: The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 14, 2024) “Yes to Text Messages, No to Video: What Counts as a Will”

What Happens If Aging Parents Won’t Discuss or are Ill-Informed about Estate Planning?

For the past 10 years, a librarian in southern California has lived in a no-win situation. Andre, one of four siblings, agreed to serve as executor—but their parents won’t say anything about their assets, their wishes, or their estate plan. This situation, detailed in the article “Estate Plan Crisis: What To Do When Your Parents Won’t Communicate” from next avenue, is common and will test sibling relationships unnecessarily.

The only thing Andre knows is that each parent has a financial and medical Power of Attorney for the other. This legal document names a person, referred to as the “agent,” who can fulfill the person’s wishes if they become incapacitated. If you have a POA, you should also have a successor POA. In the case of Andre’s parents, where both parents are elderly, having a backup is paramount, as it’s entirely possible both parents could be incapacitated at the same time. In keeping with their closed-door policy, Andre’s request for an alternate POA was denied, with parents claiming the executor would automatically have power of attorney if they become incapacitated. This is simply wrong. The POA dies with the person.

Conversations with Andre’s siblings were as fruitless as the conversations with their parents. They didn’t want to get involved, even though they may be more qualified than Andre to manage an estate.

Why would parents do this to their children? Many elderly people say they don’t want to create an estate plan to be a burden on their children. However, this is completely backwards. Having an estate plan created by an experienced estate planning attorney reduces the burden, giving offspring the tools to carry out their parent’s wishes and making life easier for them.

Another common mistake: people think children or spouses have the automatic right to make medical or legal decisions in a crisis. Without the correct legal documents (POA, HIPAA Release, Advanced Directive or Living Will, Healthcare Proxy and others), spouses and children have no right to speak with physicians or be involved with medical decisions.

If the correct estate planning documents are not in place, someone else makes a host of decisions. Doctors may make life-or-death decisions. A guardian will be in charge of an incapacitated person’s finances. Courts will appoint administrators to distribute assets. Minor children will be raised by whoever the court believes will be their best caretakers.

Estate planning need not be complicated. It starts with a consultation with an estate planning attorney, who will explain what is needed in your state. Their guidance will prevent disasters, like the one facing Andre.

• A few pointers:
• Be consistent with beneficiaries, titles and deeds. All estate planning documents, including wills, beneficiary designations, trusts and transfer-on-death designations, need to work together. For instance, if you name a nephew as the beneficiary designation on your IRA and then name your niece to receive the same IRA in your will, the designation on the IRA will override your will. Your niece and nephew may not speak to each other again.
• If you move to another state, you may need to revise estate documents, since these are state-specific laws.
• Most importantly, meet with an estate planning attorney, have an estate plan created and talk with your executor and your heirs about your plan. More communication, not less, is a worthy legacy.

Reference: next avenue (Dec. 2, 2024) “Estate Plan Crisis: What To Do When Your Parents Won’t Communicate”

How to Help Heirs Prepare for an Inheritance

If your family doesn’t talk about estate planning, including incapacity, death, or money, your heirs aren’t likely to know what to do if and when you become incapacitated, when you die or how to manage your assets when they become their inheritance. This is all too often the case, but it doesn’t have to be; according to a recent article from Madison Daily Leader, “Are your heirs ready to receive an inheritance?”

When an inheritance arrives, it’s accompanied by emotional, financial and legal issues. Having everyone prepared and informed can make the difference between a squandered inheritance, an inheritance consumed by taxes, or an inheritance wisely managed and benefiting one or more generations.

There are key issues to discuss, including matters to cover with an estate planning attorney.

Communicate with your family about your estate plan, which is more than a will. Incapacity planning includes a Power of Attorney and Healthcare Power of Attorney, two documents allowing you to name someone else to act on your behalf if you cannot express your wishes. A living will tells loved ones your wishes regarding end-of-life care. With it, your family will know if you want to be kept alive by artificial means. Without it, they’ll have to guess.

Sharing the contents of your will allows loved ones to know what to expect. They may not all be happy with your decisions. However, it won’t be a surprise and will be less likely to spark disputes after you have passed.

Do your heirs know how to manage money or other assets? If you’re leaving your heirs wealth in the form of stocks, real estate, IRAs, 401(k)s, cash, or cryptocurrency, they’ll need to be prepared to accept the assets. If your estate includes a vacation home, is there a plan for sharing it among heirs? These issues will be more manageable, if heirs understand what they are inheriting and what they’ll need to do.

An estate plan should address taxes for the people creating the plan and their heirs. While your family may not have to worry about federal estate taxes, some states still have inheritance and estate taxes. Withdrawals from certain types of inherited accounts may incur state and federal income taxes, which could take a bite out of their inheritance. If inherited assets are sold for more than they were worth at the time of inheritance, there may be capital gains taxes.

Every estate has some expenses to be considered, including funeral costs. If the decedent has a mortgage and the home is left to heirs, they may need to sell it quickly before expenses mount. The estate plan should include an inventory of all liabilities and assets, so the executor can address any outstanding debts.

There’s a lot to unpack when managing an estate. Start by having an estate plan created with an experienced estate planning attorney or update an existing plan to be sure that it still achieves your wishes. Talk with heirs so they understand your intentions. Leaving a legacy of caring takes many forms, and this is one of them.

Reference: Madison Daily Leader (Nov. 23, 2024) “Are your heirs ready to receive an inheritance?”