Do You Have A Will?

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This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Finishing Well, brought to you by CardinalGuide.com, with certified financial planner, Hans Scheil, best-selling author and financial planner, helping families finish well for over 40 years. On Finishing Well, we'll examine both biblical and practical knowledge to assist families in finishing well, including discussions on managing social security, Medicare, IRAs, long-term care, life insurance, investments, and taxes.

Now, let's get started with Finishing Well. Well, welcome to Finishing Well, with certified financial planner, Hans Scheil, and today's show, It Might Get Ya, Do You Have a Will? And, you know, while you're processing that for a minute, I, you know, I just thought I would mention, I think it's significant, that the Bible uses the word inheritance 192 times. Now, if you think God, you know, made the point 192 times, that you think it would be something that's extremely important to him. But inheritance to God is very much, you know, children and children's children. And so, certainly, we want to talk about your financial will and those kind of things, but I had this years ago that was given to me by, I guess, the Holy Spirit, that, you know, wouldn't it be wonderful, since I did these genealogy studies, if I had the story of my grandfather, my great grandfather, or his great grandfather, of how they came to faith, their actual testimony? I mean, wouldn't that be beyond wonderful if I had that from my great grandmother or any of them along the way? And so, you know, I went ahead and wrote my testimony out and put it there at my ancestry page for everybody to look at.

But then I asked my mother and my father to do it. And what a treasure it really, really is. And so, as we discuss this idea about a will, you know, your faith is quite the inheritance. And, you know, testimony is really the power of your faith. And so, consider writing that out as we get into this, right, Hans? Oh, yeah. And, I mean, I'm just sitting here.

I guess my goad is reversed here a bit, because you and I talked about this before, and, of course, I haven't done it yet. But this is going to move me along to do this myself, and to have that to give to my children. And that's actually more important than what we're talking about today. But what we're talking about today is important, very, very much important, which is, do you have a will?

Or are you going to die with what they call intestate? And because I have news for you, if you don't have a will, and I know you do have one, because I helped you get it all done. And the attorney that we have here in the office, and then, you know, I just redid mine a while back. And my wife's in just being updated to being senior citizens instead of young parents.

And there's a lot of differences that need to be done there. But Gallup did a study that I found pretty interesting, is that there's a whole bunch of statistics, but the ones that I pulled out of there, and they're on the board of the video that we did on YouTube, is people ages 50 to 64, 53% of them have a will, which means that 47% of them don't, which is almost half the people. And of the people 65 plus, 76% of them have a will, which still means 24% of them don't. And which is pretty high to me. And I also think that if you went down to the people 65 to 70, I would say, well, if you went down to the people 65 to 70, I'm betting that it's a lot lower than 76%.

So those are the statistics, but the statistics, people most of the time are just interested in themselves and their situation. And so I don't know which side of the equation you fall on. But if you're listening to this, if you don't have a will, I'm going to tell you that the state's already done one for you. So you really do have a will, because there's a thing called intestate, and the intestacy laws. And so the state's written it all out for you.

And this is how your stuff is going to be divided if you don't leave any word behind how you want it divided. Right. And on the video, you did some case studies that were actually quite eye opening, like, Oh, no. Well, they were the energy that drove doing this video is, so we got a 68 year old man who dies with no will. And, you know, that's not news when the guy has a little 401k or not, and has a little house and a social security check and a little savings account.

Nobody much hears about it. But that wasn't the case with this guy. And he also lives behind a wife who is about the same age. And he has two adult children who were from a prior marriage. And this couple, they were married for four years. So these kids, these two stepchildren of her, were from the previous marriage.

And this guy had a lot of assets. And, you know, to a certain extent, he could see this coming that he was going to pass away he was. So it's just studying this and dealing with these people just told me that I got to talk to the world out there.

And I got to say that, you know, make an impact is do this. I mean, don't your family is going to have a hard enough time when you're gone, just dealing with the fact that you're gone. And that you've died, that don't leave them this mess to to deal with.

Yeah, and it was a mess. Like, oh, my goodness, the apparently every state has their own in testament laws, or whatever you call that. And this day, yeah, I mean, if you let this guy, this guy was in two states, he lived in one of the states, but he owned property in the other state.

And that's where he was from. So, you know, if he had had a will, then everything would have been handled and probated in the state he lived in. And the will was written in even the real estate down in the other state, because it's just covered under it was under his ownership, and his will, he would have said what he wanted to go on with it. But and then the state he died in, it left two thirds of his money and things to his kids.

And one third to her, which was not too pretty, because these weren't her children. And what the great thing about this whole thing is none of them were bitter to each other, which is real a real blessing that none of these people were greedy. But yet, they still wanted to get what's theirs. And they're entitled to and both sides wanted the other one to get that. But where this gets a little complicated, I mean, these people were well to do, but not rich. And this lady needs pretty much what they have to just finish her life, you know, and I'm saying she's gonna leave it to these two kids.

But that was done for her. And there are some blessings in here is that they own a lot of the property jointly. So that doesn't even go through probate, if you have two names on the deed, and he dies, you just take his name off the deed, and then it's, you know, it's just, it's hers. So with a lot of the real estate that was, that was pretty good on the on the on the IRA. She was named the primary beneficiary, because an IRA, you have to put down a beneficiary on an IRA. So somebody, the IRA laws made him have a will for that. So she she got the IRA money, but they had significant other money. And these two kids got two thirds of it, and she got one third. And she would have been like, well, they've been married for 40 years. So those kids had to go over 40.

Right? And it would seem like she would have a much bigger need considering the situation, you know, than they would. Oh, yeah. Well, and there's the house that, you know, he grew up in the deceased. And then he wanted that to go to his kids, specifically the son. And I think that was deeded in both of their names, the husband and the wife.

So because I maybe they lived in it years ago. And yes, she had a need for this money. But she, she was, she just gave the son the house, even though it was since it was deeded, it held in joint tenancy. So with rights of survivorship, she actually was entitled to the house, and the land around it, that was in a different state.

She just gave that to the son, or stepson, and then she gave some other land around that, that was deeded to her, or just, she was the part owner, she gave that to the daughter. So we've been able to pick up the pieces of this quite well. But you know, it's just, it is, it is just really sad that we had to go through all this stuff, because a little bit of planning and having a will, and telling what to do with these corporations and, or the corporation that owned the large property up in the mountains, and that kind of thing would have, would have just made things a lot easier.

All right. And the other thing that I would note that you pointed out in the video, that's really helpful, is if you don't have a lot, then it's almost more important, right, that you consider what all the options you may have, and again, making a call to Hans, because he's got some great strategies to leverage what you do have to make sure that your family is well taken care of, and it becomes almost more critical, really, because I hate when I see, and I know of several cases of young people who died without a will, and a young wife, and young children, and families that ended up in desperate need that really would not have been necessary had they done a little planning in advance. So we got some ideas for you.

And even if you don't have a lot, like, you know, like me. So you know, when we come back, we're going to do more on do you have a will? Of course, you can find all this information in Hans's book, The Complete Cardinal Guide to Planning for and Living in Retirement. It's all there at cardinalguide.com, as well as ways to get up with Hans, which is really, really helpful when it comes to these forms and things that you need for this kind of transition. Again, it's all at cardinalguide.com.

We'll be right back. Hans and I would love to take our show on the road to your church, Sunday school, Christian or civic room. Here's a chance for you to advance the kingdom through financial resources by leveraging Hans expertise in qualified charitable contributions, veterans aid and attendance, IRAs, Social Security, Medicare, and long term care. Just go to cardinalguide.com and contact Hans to schedule a live recording of Finishing Well at your church, Sunday school, Christian or civic group. Contact Hans at cardinalguide.com.

That's cardinalguide.com. Welcome back to Finishing Well, certified financial planner, Hans Scheil. And today's show is Do You Have a Will? And oh my goodness, you know, we had talked about right before the break how important it is if you don't have a lot, because, you know, I've got a couple of young friends who passed away, actually, one of them in their 50s and one of them in their 30s. And they left their family without a will, without life insurance. And, you know, they really didn't even have ways to be buried.

And, you know, one of them, they actually donated the body to science in order to figure out a way to get them buried. Oh, yeah, the people that don't have as much are probably a higher percentage that don't have a will. You know, I don't know if it's through consciously deciding or just neglect, you know, people like that, if you're sitting here thinking, well, I don't have a lot to distribute. So, well, that's all the more reason you probably need to have a will. And more importantly, you need life insurance. And life insurance can be started with a monthly payment. And even if you're, you know, if you've got somebody that you care about, that you want to leave something to, and it's somebody maybe that has to pick through your things that are left, you can just buy a small amount of life insurance and leave it to any number of beneficiaries. And I'm telling you that people that get those checks, even if they're small, and, you know, in your eyes, or they won't be small in their eyes, because it's really like dad cared enough about me, or uncle cared enough about me, or that he wanted to make sure I had something, here it comes. And, you know, we can sit down with 50 bucks a month, 100 bucks a month, and start something very, very good.

Some of these companies now will deduct the premium out of your Social Security check. So that's just a word to the wise, that if you don't have a lot, if you're one of those people, and you want to make sure that somebody gets something, and they got enough money to bury you, let's talk about a small life insurance policy that's permanent. You know, and then one of the, on the good side of that, if you ever saw the movie, I can only imagine, you know, I think his name is Bart, that was the lead singer for Mercy Me. You know, his father didn't have anything, he didn't have anything, but he bought a small life insurance policy, and that small life insurance policy allowed him to be able to, and actually had that wish for him in the life insurance, that he would continue his music, and with the time that he had, he wrote the song, I can only imagine, which changed a lot of people's lives, as a result of this man with very, very little to live on, he just had small, you know, purchased his small life insurance policy that made a huge difference to everybody listening that's ever heard the song, I can only imagine, right?

Oh yeah. So let's talk about some people who died in test day, who, some famous people. I mean, let's start with Abe Lincoln. Abe Lincoln, who was a lawyer, he passed away, I mean, he was assassinated, but he had no will. Jimi Hendrix, no will.

Sonny Bono, no will. Died in test day. Yeah, he was a congressman, right? Oh, he was a congressman too, yeah.

He was only 62, that's hard to believe, but you know, when skiing, and that's why you don't know, you know, that's why it's so important you get this covered, because, you know, and I'm sure Sonny Bono didn't see any of that coming. Well, see, these celebrities that are musicians, their in test day, that leaves a mess forever, because they're constantly getting new revenue off of their old songs. And so, I mean, this is something that just goes on forever, is somebody has to be appointed by the court, and it's just, anyhow. Aretha Franklin, same thing.

Prince, they all died in test day. So, I mean, I just, that's what we do in financial planning, is we read about these cases of these famous people that, and I'm not really trying to change the outcome for famous people, I mean, if they've got millions, let them all fight over it. I'm trying to help the people that just, you know, they've got something, and they want to pass it on to their kids, or I'm just talking to you. If you don't have a will, or you don't have an updated one, let's get that taken care of. Now, I got another story that is another case study about another gentleman who I only met one time, but I, you know, this guy, the son, we've had some dealings with, and the son runs a business still owned by the father, and we helped the son with his mother, which was the former wife of the father, and then the father owned the business, and I actually went down to the father and met with him when I was really meeting with the son, but just kind of stuck my nose back there into his office and tried to approach him of like, you know, because the father was late 70s, and he wasn't real welcoming to my visit, which doesn't really upset me at all. It's kind of understandable where some stranger comes in and they start talking to you about, you know, wills, estate planning, what's going to happen to your stuff after you pass away, and it turns out that the father passed away just within the last couple of months, and he had gotten married six weeks before he died. So now the son, who was concerned about the whole thing, not really greedy, he wasn't so concerned about it that he wanted to do something about it, but he didn't really have any greed in him. He now is left with a third of his father's estate is going to go to what is his new wife, and two-thirds are going to go to the surviving kids, and I'm sure what he's most interested in is this business that he works in and effectively runs, now that's going to be a lot of uncertainty. So the moral of the story is just do a will, have a will. Right, so his new wife he'd had for six weeks now has one-third control of the business that the son has obviously been involved in for years and years, right? Oh yeah, and apparently they've known each other for like their whole life, and I think that this guy's mother and the father have been divorced for many, many years, and the father, this was his girlfriend of a long time, I think, and then they just decided to get married six weeks before he died, and my guess is it's not over the money.

I don't know that, though, but in any case, since he doesn't have a will, she's going to get a third of everything under the intestacy laws of the state of North Carolina, and that's going to create some real problems in the business and just leave a mess behind and probably additional resentment toward the father and her. Right, the thing that, you know, when I was approached with the same thing, because you were my GOAT originally to get a will done, is that I think I was like a lot of people, you know, I had a will, but the thing was, you know, way back when my kids were little and who was going to get my kids and had a lot to do with stuff of a young person, didn't have a thing in the world to do with what my current situation is, but the nice thing is, is that really, with your help, this is not a big deal, nor is it all that expensive, right? Well, yeah, you didn't have a bunch of requests that you wanted to make. I mean, it's just, you just wanted the standard stuff for a person that was, you know, 65 years old and, you know, anticipating that you're going to live many years, but if you didn't, you know, then you at least have things stipulated, and then if you pass away at an age like your father was, you know, that's a lot of the thinking, and it is different.

That was the same situation I was in. Mine was done back when my kids were little, and the whole focus of the thing is making sure my wife would get what she needs to finish her life and raise the kids and life insurance and all that, and if both of us were gone, who's going to take care of the kids and that kind of stuff? Well, it's all different when you're 65 or in your 60s and you're looking forward, then it's just different things that are in there, and like I said, you didn't have a lot of specific requests of things you wanted to do.

You just needed the standard stuff, and, you know, we got her done, and it's the same thing in mine. Mine doesn't have a lot of specific stuff, and most of my money is going to pass by beneficiary, and it's not going to be even included in the will, but I still have one. Right, and so that's all part of the equation, right, is, you know, as you're thinking about this idea of your inheritance, that you do have up-to-date beneficiaries on your life insurance policies and on your bank accounts and on your IRAs and that kind of thing, right? Well, yeah, and if you have just a very small estate or you don't have much, and, you know, you're listening to the show and you're with Medicare and maybe you're getting a lot of that out of it, I'm just saying, buy a small life insurance policy or put what small amount of money you have in an annuity or maybe not all of it, but the lion's share of it, and then we can name a beneficiary, and then that money will just pass like life insurance right to the name beneficiary, so we have ways of helping people that don't have a lot make sure they know that their kids or whoever they want to name are going to get something when they pass. Right, and so obviously in my case, you know, I need to make arrangements because I don't have a lot for life insurance for my wife until, you know, her Social Security can kick in and those things, because again, when I look at these folks I knew that passed away and they, and their wife, you know, couldn't take care, I mean, they couldn't even bury their husband, and what a horrible situation that really, you know, all the car payments are coming due, house payments are coming due, all this stuff and there's no income for it.

It's a scary thing. Oh, it is, and then you add to that no will, nobody knows what to do, and if you've got no life insurance, I mean, at least the life insurance, they just pay the beneficiary, who I'm assuming if you're married it's going to be your spouse, if you're not married it's going to be your kids, or one kid, and they're just going to get a check, and it's not even having anything to do with this will, so you need that, but you also need the will to just say what are they going to do with your stuff, what did you want done, and if they don't have that, they're going to have to go to the intestate probate, and it's going to be all in the public, and it's just not good. Yeah, so again, this is a pretty simple thing to just jump in and say, hey, you know, this is something I've got to think about, and again, you can just reach out to cardinalguide.com, that's where, you know, you can contact Hans and his team, and believe me, they can get all this stuff done for you so easily and really inexpensively, it's again cardinalguide.com as well as Hans' book, which goes into all these different forms and ideas there, it's called The Complete Cardinal Guide to Planning for and Living in Retirement, it's all there again at cardinalguide.com, and so, you know, we're praying that you're thinking about your inheritance, not just your financial inheritance, but your spiritual inheritance, you know, what that might look like for the next generation, and hoping that you will impact everyone. So thank you Hans, I appreciate so much, what a great show.

Thank you, and God bless you. The opinions expressed by Hans Schile and guests on this show are their own, and do not reflect the opinions of this radio station. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable, although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice. Comments involve risk, and unless otherwise stated are not guaranteed.

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