Estate planning attorneys have seen and heard it all. They want you to benefit from their experience to avoid legal and financial problems. A recent article from The Huffington Post, “The Biggest Mistakes People Make In Their Wills, According To Estate Lawyers,” explores some of the most common mistakes. The biggest one, as always, is not having a will or estate plan.
Everyone over the age of 18 needs some kind of estate planning documents, even if it’s simply a Power of Attorney and Healthcare Proxy, so parents can step in if a young adult becomes incapacitated because of an accident or an illness.
Assigning co-executors. In most cases, it’s best to have one executor and then have alternative executors. Many testators (the person making the will) think it’s only fair to let all of their children be involved in administering the estate. In practice, this can lead to trouble for the family and the estate.
Let’s say you own a home and one child wants to sell it, another wants to move in and a third wants to turn it into a rental property. Who wins? When there are multiple children serving as executors, disputes can lead to situations where everyone must retain their own attorney because of the possibility of conflicts of interest.
You think all you need is a will. People think that having a will prevents their estate from going through probate. However, the reality is different. Probate is the legal process of administering a person’s estate when they die without a will (intestate) or when they have a will and assets have not been taken out of the probate estate. If there is a will, it is submitted to the court so the court establishes the will as valid, approves the executor, and issues letters testamentary to permit the executor to act on behalf of the decedent.
If there are accounts bearing a beneficiary designation, those accounts do not pass through the probate estate. The beneficiary designation is the last word on who will receive the assets.
If there are no trusts or a piece of property doesn’t have a Transfer-On-Death designation, which is now acceptable in many states, probate must be opened to perform many different functions, including transferring title of the residence to the beneficiaries.
Trusts should be explored during the estate planning process, since they facilitate the distribution of property far more easily than the probate process.
Being vague about personal property. If your will isn’t specific and uses general language like “to all my children, an equal share,” your children may find themselves squabbling over specific items. The sad truth is, when someone dies, the survivors are not at their best. Relationships change after a death, and money can create friction between the closest siblings. When a parent dies, children who unknowingly relied on the parent to keep the peace may find themselves arguing bitterly over Mom’s best serving dish or Dad’s collection of concert T-shirts from the 70s.
Not updating the will. Certain life events require wills and estate plans to be updated. Marriage, divorce, death, birth, or adoption of children are all triggering events requiring estate plan updates. Every three to five years is a good goal for revising estate plans in the absence of any triggering events.
Let’s say you name all your adult children to receive equal shares of your estate. However, one of them dies before you. You may have wanted a will to be structured so that your children and your grandchildren receive the share intended for their parents. Without a discussion and an estate plan, they could be disinherited.
Keeping the location of your will a secret. Without access to the most recent will, your family may find itself in the same situation as if you didn’t have a will at all. Put the originals in a safe place, preferably a fire- and water-proof safe in your home. At a minimum, share your estate planning attorney’s contact information. If a will isn’t found, the state’s laws will determine property distribution, rather than your wishes.
Estate planning clarifies your wishes, protects your assets and, most importantly, prevents your family from having to go through added stress and costs during a time of grief. It is a gift to those you love and creates a genuine legacy of caring.
Speak with a Fort Lauderdale Estate Planning Attorney Here.
Reference: The Huffington Post (July 5, 2026) “The Biggest Mistakes People Make In Their Wills, According To Estate Lawyers”
