Let Us Tell You A Story

Actually, there are several stories. See if you can spot the common thread.

• Peter's parents died when he was eight years old. They had wills that named Peter's aunt and uncle in Ohio as guardians. Peter was placed in foster care while the authorities located his aunt. Things have changed since the wills were written and Peter's aunt is now a divorced mother of three and is suffering from severe depression. She strongly feels that another family member would be a better guardian for Peter and declines the appointment. Peter will remain in foster care for months while Social Services and the courts figure out who his guardian will be.
• Matt was twelve years old when his single mother passed. He was the sole beneficiary of a $200,000 life insurance policy. He went to live with his father, who was also appointed as Conservator over Matt's inheritance. His father supported Matt himself and never touched the insurance money. Now, Matt's 18th birthday is coming up. He will have complete, unrestricted access to those funds. He's having a hard time deciding between the Corvette and the Porsche.
• Ashley lost her parents when she was twenty-one. She inherited $325,000, which she was wise enough to invest with a financial advisor. Six months later, she was in a car accident. The driver and passenger of the other car were killed. The police say the wreck was Ashley's fault. Now the families of the victims are suing Ashley for $1,000,000 each in a wrongful death lawsuit. Ashley's car insurance has a $300,000 limit. Her entire inheritance will be lost.
• John married when he was twenty-three. He inherited $700,000 when he lost his parents five years later. He used the money to buy a magnificent home, which was titled jointly with his wife. Now, five years later, John's wife is leaving him. She wants half of everything, including the home.
• Sarah decided to chase her lifelong dream of starting a business. She invested everything she had and took out a substantial loan to cover start-up costs and operating expenses. Things went great for a few years, but then a huge recession hit. Her business failed and now she is facing bankruptcy. Three months into her bankruptcy proceeding, she lost her elderly mother, who left her $23,041.27, a nestegg she scrimped and saved to put together so she would have something, however modest, to leave to Sarah. Sarah's creditors are insisting that th einheritance should be added to the bankruptcy estate to pay the money she owes them. Sarah will never see a dollar of th elegacy her mother sacrificed so much to leave behind.
• Lisa's parents created a living trust when she was eight. It said that if anything happened to either spouse, the survivor would inherit all assets. Lisa would inherit upon the death of the surviving spouse. Tragically, Lisa's father died young. Her mother remarried a few years later to a man with two daughters of his own. Being responsible adults, Lisa's mother and step-father set up a new estate plan together, including a trust that contained the same standard terms as before: everything to the survivor and then to the kids. Only this time, Lisa's mother died before her new husband. Lisa's step-father called his estate planning attorney to ask if he is legally able to change his trust to disinherit Lisa, leaving everything Lisa's parents had intended as her inheritance to his own daughters. Yes, he can.