The One Big Mistake My Mother Made & How I Fixed It

My mother wanted to get everything in order and finally set up her trust and estate plan. I referred her to an estate planning attorney who created her trust. My mother completed her trust. But, she was just like millions of Americans. When they get their trust done, they just put it in their file cabinet and never look at it again.

A few years passed, and in my spirit, I felt I needed to review my mother's trust and estate plan, just like I do for my clients. I opened her trust and what did I see? The attorney had left instructions for what she was supposed to sign and get notarized for her home to be put in the trust. But the signature and notary pages were left blank. No signature, no notary—just empty spaces on a piece of paper.

I immediately noticed this and took my mother to the local mail place, got her trust notarized, and enforced. Thank God her son is a financial advisor who caught this simple but huge mistake.

Yes, I am guilty of being a bad son by not reviewing all of my mother’s documents sooner to make sure everything was in order. But now, when my mother is gone, my brother and I won’t be bickering and paying thousands and thousands of dollars to attorneys and to the county.

This is a common problem that not just my family faced but millions of Americans face as well. We get our trust and estate plan, but we fail to confirm everything is finalized. We don’t get a reminder call from the attorney asking if we followed through. And with more and more of our business done over Zoom or by mail—and not face to face—it is even more important to review the documents we receive.

That’s why my firm has added, as part of our financial planning process, an estate planning review. We go through our clients’ estate plans, make sure all titles and beneficiaries are up to date, and confirm they are taking advantage of all credits, deductions, and exemptions. We do this every other year for our clients.

Even the best estate plan is only as good as its follow-through. Don’t wait until it’s too late to discover a costly mistake. If you’d like a second set of eyes on your trust or estate plan—or simply want peace of mind knowing everything is in order—I’d be happy to help. Schedule a free consultation here!