“Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”
— Richard Cushing
Gene and Betsy Hackman: Gene and Betsy Hackman had Wills, but they hadn’t been updated in nearly 20 years. Gene named his much younger wife as the beneficiary of his Will. He likely assumed that his wife would survive him (never assume) and he didn’t have a beneficiary if Betsy predeceased him. He had three children from a prior marriage, but none of them were mentioned in his Will. Since Betsy predeceased him and he did not name another beneficiary, his assets will also pass through the intestacy statute and as such the beneficiaries of his Estate would be his kids. Was that his intent?
Would it be better if he had updated his estate plan and had a back up beneficiary to his wife so that his estate passed according to his wishes, rather than being determined by a state statute.
Lessons: Update your estate planning documents. Name back-up beneficiaries and fiduciaries.