I gave my thoughts to Kiplinger’s Stacy Rapacon on lessons we can learn from the unfortunate passing of Prince. The music legend apparently passed away without a proper estate plan. Or if he had an estate plan, no one knows where it is… which is just as bad. See below:
Keep a copy of your will somewhere handy and be sure to tell your family—or at least your lawyer—where it is. All the estate planning in the world is for naught if your loved ones don’t know where the documents are. In Prince’s case, he was unmarried and had no surviving children, so at least in this case there are no grieving widows and orphans to worry about. But chances are that Prince intended his multi-million-dollar fortune to go, if not to a friend or friends, then to a charity. His wishes may never be carried out if his will cannot be found.
I’ve told my wife repeatedly where to look for the documents in the event I meet an untimely end. But I also know good and well that, if that day came, she might not be mentally able to deal with it at first. So, I keep one of the estate lawyer’s business cards pinned to the bulletin board in our kitchen. Yes, it’s a little morbid, but at least the number is there to call if she needs it. The estate lawyer has copies of all of our documents in the event that the originals are lost or destroyed.
You can read the full article here.