Estate planning is an important part of the financial health and well-being of a client and their family. The client benefits by knowing the status of all of their assets, including the value, tax issues, joint or other shared ownership, and the consequences for their estate, or even their retirement, for all of the above.
Although clients are often reluctant to share information regarding their assets, the attorney needs to know, in order to give the maximum of best advice. Without the data, the estate plan is a “best guess” without the precision that can really help families get the best result. In addition, with so many changes in the tax code, government benefits, and even in families, clients won’t know if a given change affects them, that would need a change to the estate plan. It is common for me to meet with families who are surprised to find out about a tax that they didn’t know about, or that a given asset is owned by another family member.
While it is clear that money is a taboo subject, so is death and family. Sharing the most information gets the best result.