People who seemingly have every reason in the world to carefully plan for major life changes have resisted putting even simple structures in place.
Tom Petty, Audrey Hepburn, John Denver, Pablo Picasso, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Marlon Brando, Prince, Robert Brooks, Gary Coleman, Dennis Hopper, Heath Ledger, Princess Di, Jimi Hendrix, etc... all of these people were famous and accomplished with large, complicated financial assets, and some of them left little or nothing in the way of direction for their heirs or estate managers. If they realized that their vast and complicated holdings could result in struggle and strife, they probably would have seen to hiring a fleet of people to design wills, trusts, and advanced directives. They, themselves, could have journaled a simple guide providing direction and clarity to their loved ones. But they didn’t fully plan for any of it. And it wasn’t because some were caught unaware, either—Pablo Picasso was ninety-one when he died, while Audrey Hepburn and Aretha Franklin were both well aware that they had terminal illnesses long before their deaths. For example, John Denver, who famously died young in a plane crash, and Prince, who died at fifty-seven of an accidental overdose, could really be said to have lacked the time to get their affairs in order. Even still, they were successful musicians for years and could surely see that their holdings and assets were becoming more intricate and complex by the day.
There are numerous reasons why people tend to avoid this kind of planning, and there are many ways inaction could end up hurting the people they love. For example, maybe you think your family is so rock-solid that they’d never fight over something as relatively “unimportant” as money. Perhaps you don’t have much in the way of assets and don’t think you need to spend time organizing what little you have, or maybe you simply assume that it can’t be that complicated and that there’s probably some system in place that will work everything out. Maybe you truly believe that you’ve already taken care of anything that could possibly come up.
As you go through the book, think of your loved ones and imagine you are writing them a letter they will read in a time of turmoil. Think of what they will want to hear, the information they will need to have to make things simple, and then give them all those things. What a great privilege to provide those you love with knowledge and security. What a blessing for you to make life easier and more peaceful for them. This could even be yourself, in a future where things have gotten messy or even frightening.
There are numerous reasons why people tend to avoid this kind of planning, and there are many ways inaction could end up hurting the people they love. For example, maybe you think your family is so rock-solid that they’d never fight over something as relatively “unimportant” as money. Perhaps you don’t have much in the way of assets and don’t think you need to spend time organizing what little you have, or maybe you simply assume that it can’t be that complicated and that there’s probably some system in place that will work everything out. Maybe you truly believe that you’ve already taken care of anything that could possibly come up.
As you go through the book, think of your loved ones and imagine you are writing them a letter they will read in a time of turmoil. Think of what they will want to hear, the information they will need to have to make things simple, and then give them all those things. What a great privilege to provide those you love with knowledge and security. What a blessing for you to make life easier and more peaceful for them. This could even be yourself, in a future where things have gotten messy or even frightening.