What’s the most popular estate planning option? Will-based planning? Trust-based planning? Unfortunately, it’s neither. Number one on the list in Virginia is: doing nothing. The more technical term for this lack of planning is called “dying intestate.”
“Dying intestate” simply means that you have decided to depart this world without doing any estate planning whatsoever. While your family will be horrified at this prospect, your unintended beneficiaries, the government and the probate court will all be delighted.
By dying intestate, you will have allowed the government to draft your estate plan for you. As a result, they can tax your estate and impose other costs at the maximum amount allowable by law. In addition, your assets will go to people according state law’s priorities, not your own. For example, most married couples want their share of the estate to be used by the surviving spouse before the children inherit. However, if you have a blended family situation and provided no direction ahead of time, when you die, the court will only give one-third of your estate to your surviving spouse and two-thirds to your children from a previous marriage.
This problem is exacerbated before you die if you have no incapacity planning documents in place. If (and more likely, when) something happens to you that renders you unable to handle your own affairs, without you having a proper legal plan in place, you will have to go through a legal proceeding where a court appoints a guardian to handle your personal affairs and a conservator to handle your finances. The procedure is oftentimes referred to as “living probate.” 
Living probate can be a living nightmare for you and your family for several reasons. First, it can be a humiliating process. You are declared incompetent in a public proceeding. Next, the court is in charge. It will decide which people will manage your affairs; it’s neither you nor your family’s choice.
Because of this court proceeding, there is lag time in the management of your affairs due to paperwork and delays. Of course, these hassles can add a lot of stress and expense to what is already a very stressful situation for your family.
Finally, living probate can be very expensive. Typically, there are court fees, attorneys’ fees, expert witness fees and accounting fees. Additionally, once your conservator has been appointed by the court, this person has to give an annual accounting to the court on how your financial affairs have been managed. This is true even if the court appointed your spouse or one of your children as your conservator.
Doing nothing hurts you, but hurts your family even more. Most of our clients tells us that the reason they’re doing proper planning is to protect their family. If that sounds like what you wish to do, we at PJI Law are here to help. Call us at (703) 865-6100 or email us at family@pjilaw.com.
