We can accomplish so much these days simply by pushing a button. I just returned from a conference in Washington, DC, where I pushed many buttons using apps on my iPhone. It was simply amazing when you think about it.
I pushed buttons to check into my flight and to display my boarding pass. Another button informed me if my flight was on time, while yet another button tracked my bags onto the plane. Upon arrival at Dulles International, I pushed a button to summon an Über to take us to our hotel.
Rather than wait in a long line to check into our room, I pushed a button to check in, reading the assigned room number on my screen. We ascended in the elevator, and, after finding our room, I proceeded to punch another button to unlock our door. Once in our room we used buttons to read restaurant reviews and make a reservation.
We even pushed buttons to enroll in the conference break-out sessions, find the location of those sessions around the conference center, and communicate with the conference organizers.
There was virtually no interaction with a human being to accomplish all of these tasks. It seems that we can do a lot pushing buttons.
Even construct an estate plan.
But not a good one.
You see, unlike many transactions, a good estate plan is only developed through a meaningful interaction with a knowledgeable professional. Sure, you can access web-based estate planning programs, but those can only perform one minor function in an estate plan—that is preparing a legal document that would say who gets what in the event of your death. Even then it probably doesn’t do a thorough enough job.
Why is that? Because there is so much more thought that should go into constructing an estate plan. Consider, for example, that you have several different baskets of assets. Some carry taxable income with them (such as annuities, IRA and 401(k) accounts), while in others you might achieve a step up in tax-cost basis that eliminates capital gains to your beneficiaries. Without a thorough understanding of the complexities surrounding these issues, it’s likely that you don’t maximize your plan, and that Uncle Sam becomes a larger beneficiary than he should.
How about those in blended families? A computer program won’t provide any insight into the problems associated with economically tying your spouse who is not the parent of your children to those children through marital trust planning. Sure, the program will describe the benefits of providing income to your spouse for the rest of her life, and then how the trust will distribute principal to the children upon her death. Seems pretty straightforward.
Except it’s not.
Will that computer program reveal how to maximize family harmony when every dollar your spouse spends following your passing will result in one less dollar that the children inherit? There are strategies to consider beyond what the cold calculations that artificial intelligence can master.
How about protecting your children’s inheritance from divorce or other economic maladies? Will those computer buttons know how to give your children the greatest amount of freedom in choosing their investments, distributing the trust income and principal, and ultimately deciding who should benefit from the inheritance following their deaths? I usually have lengthy conversations with my clients about the hopes and wishes that they harbor for their loved ones. Can you do that with Siri?
No. You can’t.
Selecting your trustee in the event of your disability is usually another in-depth conversation that I engage in with my clients. There’s so much to it, in fact, that I wrote a book exclusively on that subject. Click here, if you’d like a copy of that book. Once you receive it please read the preface where I described how shocking I found the crushing responsibility to be when my mother contracted leukemia and I became the trustee of my parents’ trusts. Reflect on the fact that I’m a board certified wills, trusts and estates attorney and a licensed CPA, and I found the responsibilities overwhelming. This is my career. Think about that for a moment.
There are so many variables to a good estate plan that every person’s plan will be unique to that individual. Sure, if you have less than $100,000 in assets and a house you probably don’t need the best estate planning attorney out there, and perhaps a computer program will suffice.
If you’ve taken the time to read this column, chances are you’ve accumulated somewhat more than that.
Yes, it’s great that we can do so much by pushing a button on our Smartphones. But do you really want to put that small amount of thought into constructing a plan to protect you and your loved ones with what took you a lifetime to accumulate?
The Sheppard Law Firm is located in Fort Myers and Naples by appointment.
© 2018 Craig R. Hersch. Originally published in the Sanibel Island Sun.
