Imagine that you have done thoughtful, thorough estate planning. You invested time, money and effort exploring all advantages you can provide for yourself and your loved ones. You worked with experts to develop and implement a legal plan to:

• assure the management of your care and finances in accordance with your wishes if you become disabled

• if you are married, care for your spouse upon your death without exposing your estate to a future remarriage

• assure that the land, equipment, operation, savings, etc., will pass to whom you want, the way you want

• provide every possible advantage to each heir, such as protecting what they inherit from lawsuits, divorces and similar catastrophes that could hit them in the future

• maintain flexibility against unpredictable politicians, so your family can minimize taxes now and in the future

You retain the services of professionals to help you keep all of this up-to-date and take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.

The worst that can happen
After committing all this time, energy, thought and money to accomplish extraordinary results for you and your family, what is the worst thing that could happen?

Here is about the worst thing I can think of. Someone who knows far less than you know — who has no knowledge of the benefits that can be obtained through planning, who did not participate in your plan development, who has not received the counsel and advice you did as you designed the plan, who does not have your years of wisdom to draw upon, who hasn’t considered all of the contingencies covered by your plan — comes along and simply “cancels out” your plan.

Wouldn’t that be a terrible waste? Think it can’t happen? Think again.

Most people, unlike you, cut corners on their estate planning. You know two types of such people. One is Tom, the typical farmer who takes pride in how little time and money he has invested in estate planning. “Keep it simple, that’s what I always say. It worked out fine for my folks,” he says, ignoring the fact that it is no longer his parents’ world. The culture of lawsuits, easy divorce, ever-changing tax laws and skyrocketing land prices creates risks and opportunities that his parents never imagined. Fortunately, Tom is not in a position to “cancel out” your plan.

The other type is your children. Members of their generation are often told by their professionals (investment, insurance and lawyer) that they don’t need anything more than a simple will and power of attorney. Their professionals don’t deal with the complexities of farm succession, have no direct experience with asset protection planning, and would never offend their client — your child — by bringing up the potential of divorce! But your children couldn’t cancel out your plan … or could they?

Tom and your children have something very much in common: If they have thought about estate planning at all, they cut corners. They think simple documents are the way to go.

Are your documents simple? Not if they are thorough. Not if they provide an orderly and efficient mechanism for dealing with your disability and death. Not if they provide the kind of benefits for you and your heirs that I described earlier.

The corner-cutter effects
Fast-forward a few years. You start to decline in health and start leaning on a helpful child. The child sees your documents, and after all, anything extraordinary is not commonly understood and will create a degree of apprehension. Before long, as you become more dependent on them and their help, your child says, “My attorney says you don’t need all of this.” Then, ignorant of all that went into your plan and oblivious to the benefits they will receive, they drive you to their attorney and “help you” replace your plan with simplistic, one-size-fits-all form documents.

How ironic! At the point in your life when you are most vulnerable — when you appreciate your children taking an interest in your situation, when the planning you did is just about to prove its value, when your efforts are about to make the tough decisions easier for them, and right before your plan delivers their protected inheritance — your children can get involved just enough to replace your extraordinary plan with something ordinary.

Don’t let it happen to you. Plan to protect your plan from your well-meaning helpers. Insist that your family learn about what you have done. Help them see the value. Then they won’t even think of undermining your efforts.

Ferguson owns The Estate Planning Center in Salem. Learn more at thefarmersestateplanningattorneys.com.