When I speak of ignorance I'm not speaking of stupidity. I'm speaking of a lack of information upon which one can act for ones own benefit. We live in a day and age where regulatory policies exist beyond the common knowledge but never-the-less affect us profoundly. This ignorance of law and regulation can dramatically effect us and our families but in the eyes of the law there is no excuse for not “knowing”.
The challenge for each of us then becomes to discover and understand the pitfalls to our financial existence and utilize the remedies that are available to us. The "informed" always survive better than those who ignorantly go through life at the mercy of whatever may happen. Living an uninformed life and making no effort to inform and protect ones-self then becomes stupidity.
My career and expertise is focused on financial matters and as I practice my craft I continuously come across tragic stories of people who were "unaware", and the consequences were often devastating. Improper steps taken because of ignorance of the law, Wills and Trusts never prepared, Estate Taxes costing families millions of dollars, Children left in the hands of the Court, Assets held in Probate for months and years while the value of assets dwindles. These situations are not confined to the middle class or the poor. The affluent and the wealthy seem to be most vulnerable to these circumstances...because they have the most to lose. The sad irony is that all of these problems could have been totally avoided with a little bit of advance preparation.
As I viewed the news this morning I heard that Michael Jackson had a Will. This advice was no doubt given and done by his very expensive lawyers. this means that Michael Jackson’s estate will pay something like a minimum of 10% of the GROSS assets of his estate in legal fees to take his estate through Probate and most of that money will go to his attorneys. If Michael had prepared a Living Trust there would be no Probate and millions of dollars would have gone to his children instead of the attorneys. There is an old adage about legal fees...”they rise to meet the amount of money available” We can expect Michael Jackson’s estate settlement to go on for years and cost his estate millions....all because his attorney’s didn’t do a Living Trust.
My commitment is to make the necessary information available to everyone who wants it. I am not an attorney but I have made this subject a 30 year specialization and I will tell the truth about the double standard that often exists in the legal profession. This will be the subject of future blogs. My motive is to educate. If you have questions you may contact me at the email on this blog or 888-437-8778. Our information is posted at:
Until next time...