Danielle and Andy Mayoras (Forbes.com) have published an article entitled “Five Estate Planning Lessons From The Paul Walker Estate” (Feb 10, 2014). Provided below is a summary of the article from Forbes.com:
Five Estate Planning Lessons From The Paul Walker Estate
Recently, Paul Walker's father filed to open the estate, which included Paul Walker's Last Will and Testament.
The probate filing revealed that Paul Walker’s assets totaled about 25 million dollars. The filing also showed that Walker had a revocable living trust in which he named his daughter the sole beneficiary of that trust. Unlike wills that are public documents, Trusts are private documents, thus no one but the designated ones according to the Trust will know what the Trust language states.
Lesson #1: Paul Walker placed His Trust In A Trust.
Depending on your circumstances, having a trust is one of the best Estate Planning tools for a lot of people, having a will is only a portion of the planning. Paul Walker’s will transferred all of his assets into a trust he created. This allows the probate process to be much quicker and simpler.
Lesson #2: Trusts Must Be Funded During Life.
When you fund your trust during your lifetime all the assets you put into your Trust will automatically be private once you pass away, meaning that nothing should be left to pass through the will. The reason we do know that Walker had a will, trust, and 25 million in assets is because he didn't fully fund his trust.
Lesson #3: No One Should Wait Until They Are Old To Do Estate Planning.
Paul Walker’s will was signed in August of 2001, when he was only 28 years old. Far too many adults in this country wait until “someday” to prepare even a basic will. No one should ever procrastinate with estate planning! Walker certainly didn’t plan to die in a car accident.
To continue reading the Five lessons head over to read the full article by clicking the link: "Five Estate Planning Lessons From The Paul Walker Estate" By Danielle and Andy Mayoras (Forbes.com).