There is so much speculation going around about the death of pop star Prince last week. Yesterday in the supermarket I saw tabloid headlines that he was murdered, he was killed by drugs ………and the speculation goes on and on.
Initial estimates are that Prince’s estate is worth over $300 million and that does not even start to count in the value of unreleased materials and future revenues and what the IRS values his “Likeness” to be worth and more and more. (Michael Jackson’s estate is still in litigation with the IRS over the value of his image and likeness)
At the age of 57, not many people had Prince on their list to die this year – probably the last person being Prince himself. “He thought he would live forever” was another quote I have seen.
We have seen so many issues come up with premature death (When is death ever on time?) and their estate issues are not in place, and yet it is not a complicated issue to fix. The people that we leave behind are the ones left to sort out a big mess when we are not diligent in having some basic steps in place.
No matter what our age, we all need at least a Will – but even better a well-documented Estate plan.
Whether we might need a Trust or only a Will is something that each person needs to explore, but at a minimum, we all should have a Will – no matter how old or young we are. If we love those who will be left behind, then we would be doing them a huge favor by having some of these things in order.
Even just a record of where all the information is and what our Passwords are for our accounts and email accounts and other things that will be needed by those left behind. There are online tools to help with this as well as putting it down on paper.
If we die without a plan in place with documentation to back it up, then we are basically giving up the right to privacy, and also giving the state permission to control what happens with our estate by allowing intestacy laws to govern who gets what share of our estate.
We should ask ourselves – “Is this really what I want to have happen, and what people will remember after I am gone, or would I prefer to have my family be thankful that I had everything in place to facilitate a peaceful and efficient transition?”
We are all going to leave this earth at some time, but we cannot predict whether it will be when we are young or old. How we leave things for our loved ones could be decided today if we plan for it.
Speak to an advisor who could assist with this.
I sent my daughter a list of my passwords the other day and got a message back saying “Dad, I think I will survive without your Uber password” 
Whether it be for College Planning or Financial Planning, let’s PLAN
Dave Coen is CEO of College Planning America and a Registered Representative – Sageview Advisory
714-813-1703 davec@collegeplanningamerica.com
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