10 Surprising (or Surprisingly Common) Estate Planning Mistakes

When it comes to wills, as a financial planner, I’ve seen a lot of sad, unfortunate or just plain weird things happen over the years.

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When it comes to wills, as a financial planner, I’ve seen a lot of sad, unfortunate or just plain weird things happen over the years. Poor estate documents can lead to people accidentally cutting loved ones out of inheritances, paying big tax bills unnecessarily and saddling families with expensive, head-scratching legal battles.

Here are 10 mistakes — some you can probably guess, but others you’ve probably never heard of — people tend to make when planning their estates.

Written by T. Eric Reich, President of Reich Asset Management, LLC. Reich is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional who holds his Certified Investment Management Analyst certification, Chartered Life Underwriter® and Chartered Financial Consultant® designations.

Disclaimer

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

T. Eric Reich, CIMA®, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®
President and Founder, Reich Asset Management, LLC

T. Eric Reich, President of Reich Asset Management, LLC, is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional, holds his Certified Investment Management Analyst certification, and holds Chartered Life Underwriter® and Chartered Financial Consultant® designations.