In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson discusses the myth of “the reading of the will.”
Transcript:
We had a client die recently, and his daughter called us and said, “well when are we going to arrange the reading of the will?” I had to stop myself honestly from chuckling, because readings of the will work out great for movies and TV shows, because they are a great dramatic moment, and you can gather the whole family around and see the shocked expressions on their face when they found out that everything was left as in knives out to the caretaker, and not the family. But, those don’t happen in real life.
First of all, our will runs about 11 pages and if we read that, I can close to guarantee that most of the people in the room would be sound asleep by the end of it, because a lot of it is administrative provisions. So, we have a discussion with people saying who’s going to get what, and interestingly enough, most of the time it’s pretty much exactly what everyone in the family would expect.
But, if you’re waiting for the reading of the will for somebody in the family, probably not going to happen.
Also looking for information about Medicaid and Asset Preservation? Visit these articles:
“Your Trusted Advisor on the Elder Care Journey”
Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (618) 632-7000 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
