Dying without an estate plan can lead to a lot of problems in the probate process. If people want to avoid having their loved ones fight with each other they should have an estate plan put in place that includes a will. This article discusses the example of Lawrence Inlow, the former Chief Counsel of Conseco, Inc. When Mr. Inlow passed away without having any will or estate plan his wealthy estate went into probate to be distributed via Indiana’s intestacy laws. The wealthy decedent had children from two different marriages, and what followed was a very expensive estate battle. Many of the problems discussed in this article could have been avoided if Mr. Inlow had simply created a will and an estate plan.
See Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP, The costs of failing to plan: the tragedy of Lawrence Inlow, Lexology, September 8, 2015.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
