Sandra L. Clapp Quoted in CNBC Article

 

Attorney Sandra L. Clapp, of Sandra L. Clapp & Associates is quoted in the CNBC article The 5 Biggest Estate-Planning Blunders by Shelly Schwartz.

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"Estate-planning blunders are costly and common.  Any number of oversights can leave you vulnerable in the event you become incapacitated. Others can seriously compromise the amount your heirs will inherit when you die" reports Schwartz.

 

The five biggest estate-planning blunders:

1. Picking poorly

2. Leaving your IRA to your estate

3. Forgetting to update beneficiaries

4. Failing to sign a health-care directive

5. Leaving a living trust unfunded

 

Schwartz goes on to quote Sandra L. Clapp and others regarding the importance of estate-planning.

"I could tell you horror story after horror story," said estate-planning attorney Sandra Clapp, of Sandra L. Clapp & Associates in Eagle, Idaho. One of her clients, she said, made the critical mistake of giving his girlfriend partial control of his assets during his lifetime. Unbeknownst to him, she had promptly transferred ownership of a significant portion of his estate to herself. The man's will named his children as beneficiaries, but there was little left to distribute when he died. Once it's discovered, it's usually too late if the assets are already spent or transferred out of jurisdiction," Clapp said.

 "If you don't create an estate plan, you're letting the courts decide how to divide your assets, which may not reflect your wishes." -Sandra Clapp, estate-planning attorney, Sandra L. Clapp & Associates