1. 5 documents you MUST have to be an 'adult'

And a sad story.

I love to write about celebrities and some of the estate planning mistakes they have made to encourage/shame you into fixing your stuff.

BUT, here is an example from this week that I'm working on for a client now:

2. A client's aunt and Godmother died.

She had a trust.

But NONE of her property was IN the trust.

AND, she did NOT have a beneficiary for ANY of her IRA's or brokerage accounts.

So......this is going to be a mess.

3. It's going to go through probate in Arizona, which has a 9-12 month delay.

Plus probate fees.

AND, they may have to cash in ALL of the IRA at once, pay tax on it, and THEN distribute it....

4. ....because it didn't have a beneficiary,

rather than splitting it up, and spreading the tax over 10 years.

So, let's recap the 5 pieces of paper you should have to be allowed to call yourself an adult.

BTW, NONE of this has to be expensive.

5. But truly an ounce of prevention here is worth a pound of cure.

A) You need a will.

A simple document that states what you want to happen to your stuff when you die. Things like personal stuff.

B) If you own stuff like houses, cars, bank accounts, you need a living trust.

6. The living trust will keep everything OUT of the probate system AND keep it private

AS LONG AS YOU PUT YOUR STUFF IN THE TRUST (don't skip this step. SO many smart people do.)

C) You need a LIVING will (different from the other one)

7. A living will tells people what you want to have happen if you're incapacitated.

Do you want to be on life support forever if you're brain dead?

I wouldn't...and a living will directs people to what YOU want if YOU can't make that decision.

8. D) You need a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney.

This spells out EXACTLY who gets to make your decisions for you if you can't.

Trust me, you do NOT want your estranged husband or wife making these decisions for you.

9. Finally, you want E) a Financial Power of Attorney.

This defines who gets to handle your money if you're not able to.

If any attorney's want to jump in with anything I missed (I am not an attorney), please feel free.

BUT, we ALL think we're going to live forever.

10. But you're not going to.

And like Socrates said: Dig the well BEFORE you thirst.

So, PLEASE take care of this today, AND make sure you follow through and put stuff in the trust, if you need to.

11. Oh, and while you're at it, make sure to check that you HAVE beneficiaries on your stuff.

And that it's the people you WANT to be your beneficiares. Not your ex-wife/husband.

End of rant/lecture.

Have fun this weekend.