Estate Planning 101: Mistakes to Avoid

The Ronald H. Roberts Temecula Public Library in conjunction with the Riverside County Law Library hosted, “Estate Planning 101: Mistakes to Avoid.” The class was open to the public and free for anyone wishing to attend. The class was organized by the Temecula Law Resource Center.

This class covered a wide range of mistakes that people make when estate planning such as a will, trust or power of attorney.  Mrs. Andrea Shoup, an estate planning attorney presented to the 42 people in attendance. Mrs. Shoup used examples of high profile celebrity cases to illustrate the mistakes made in estate planning.

One such celebrity case was Howard Hughes who did not have a will or trust. In the end over 1,100 people benefited from his estate, including distance relatives he did not want to inherit. Mrs. Shoup also spoke about how costly and lengthy it can be to go to Probate. She spoke of the importance of creating a trust, and the importance of also funding and updating the trust.

The passing of Heath Ledger illustrating the importance of updating a trust. Mr. Ledger had failed to include his young daughter into his trust. By failing to do so, there were costly probate fees so the court could help provide for his daughter.

Also, Mrs. Shoup spoke of the danger of trying to create a will or trust by yourself. She mentioned that Chief Justice Warren had created his own trust. But his son and daughter paid $450,000 in estate taxes which was completely avoidable with a complete estate plan.

Lastly, we had surveys completed by those in attendance. The response was overwhelmingly positive. There were comments of the class being very informative and useful. A few people mentioned that Mrs. Shoup provided an excellent presentation. Overall, people were thankful for the opportunity to hear a presenter on such an important topic. The Temecula Law Resource Center would like to thank Mrs. Andrea Shoup for taking time to present to people in the community.