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We all know Jurassic Park was an awesome blockbuster of a movie based on the book by Michael Crichton. What you might not know is that Crichton was a husband to five women – not at the same time of course.
A sad part of his life is that he died from cancer while married to wife #5 and she was pregnant. And believe it or not, Crichton did not have an updated trust or will even though his battle with throat cancer lasted for a while. His will even had language in it disinheriting any future children – and his 5th wife was out entirely due to a prenuptial agreement.
So wife #5 went to court to get the baby included as a beneficiary and guess what? Crichton’s 20 year old daughter from a previous marriage fought the request from wife #5. Things got ugly, the press was all over it and money was wasted. In the end the baby was added as a beneficiary, but who knows if this is what Michael Crichton wanted??
I don’t want to get too preachy here, but of course the lesson here is to make sure to get all your ducks’s lined up with your planning or there could be unintended consequences. It’s human nature to put planning off, we all do it. I think people spend more time planning a vacation versus planning to protect their family and/or business. And then life throws a curve ball and those of us with bad planning get nailed.
As I was reading about the Crichton case, it got me thinking about all the people from across the country who I talk to about their planning. A frequent comment I get is that estate planning is just for millionaires. So I thought it would be useful to pass along what is included in a basic estate plan. And because we like to keep planning FUN, you have to click the photo below to check out the really cool explainer video I put together. Comes with uplifting music!
Reply to this email and let me know what you think about the video.
Thanks,
Paul
Director of Business Development
BarthCalderon
714-704-4828
