By: Samantha Banks, Attorney at Law [Estate Planning]
Peace of Mind Starts Here
Summary: Samantha Banks is an attorney at law at Indiana Estate & Elder Law, specializing in estate planning and elder law. Her passion for this field stems from a personal family experience with a flawed estate plan, driving her to make the process straightforward and accessible for her clients. She assists clients in achieving their estate planning goals and ensures proper asset allocation and protection within the firm.
My Estate Planning Journey
Prior to becoming an attorney, my only experience with estate planning was watching my parents create their own. However, in 2022 they realized their estate plan didn’t meet their goal. It also included language that gave the firm that drafted it significant control over assets after they passed away. It took them almost a year to undo the damage and finally create a plan that met their goals. Simultaneously, my brother Evan unexpectedly passed away in 2023 without a will.
Witnessing their stress, anxiety, and grief prompted me to shift my practice area as an attorney, from family law to estate planning and elder law. I wanted to do anything I could to prevent someone else from having that same experience. It also prompted me to have hard conversations with my husband, Skylar, about our own plans. We have three young daughters and are working hard to build a legacy for them. How could I preach to my clients the importance of estate planning and not practice my own advice?
Navigating Key Decisions
Estate planning is deeply personal and the conversations surrounding the who, what, when, and how can be incredibly emotional. However, Skylar and I tried our best to take as much emotion out of our decision making as possible. Instead, we took a practical approach. When thinking about naming guardians for our girls, we considered family members and friends who shared our faith and religious beliefs. People who are financially responsible, and who would offer the most stability for them.
Obviously, Skylar and I were each other’s first choice for things like Power of Attorney and Healthcare Representative. Did you know that spouses actually do not have inherent authority to make legal and financial decisions for each other? I still think that fact is so interesting! It is also important to remember that just because your spouse chooses someone for their documents does not mean you have to follow suit. Skylar and I both chose different people as a backup Healthcare Representative, and that’s OK!
Tailoring Our Estate Plan: Key Choices & Rationale
Because our daughters are still minors, our pool of family members was limited when considering who to name as alternatives. Skylar’s family lives out of state, and even though my family is much closer, naming extended family members just did not make sense for us. Remember, you don’t have to name family members in your estate plan just for the sake of keeping it in the family. A majority of the individuals named in our estate plan are close friends. However, in the future we know our daughters will play an integral role in our estate plan. Beyond an inheritance, we will consider their individual personalities, strengths, and weaknesses to determine who is the best fit for certain roles. It does not have to be the eldest child, simply because they’re the eldest!
Individual goals and circumstances determine the type of estate plan that works best for each client. For our family, a Revocable Living Trust was the best way to meet our goals. We knew we wanted to build protections around our children’s inheritance and account for different scenarios. For example, our daughters will inherit in Separate Share Trusts to ensure their inheritance is protected from things like divorce and litigation.
We also created a Special Needs Trust for our eldest daughter, who is deaf and hard of hearing. Additionally, we wanted to avoid probate and ensure a private administration. It was important to me that our estate remains out of the public eye. Quite frankly, it’s no one else’s business who gets what from us and why.
Why Your Estate Plan Needs to Evolve
Contrary to belief, estate planning is not a one and done venture, nor is it one size fits all. Your estate plan should fluctuate, change, and adapt over time as your life does. This may happen more often depending on the stage of life someone is in. For us, we know our estate plan will change significantly over the years as our assets change and our daughters grow into adulthood. This also highlights the importance of working with a firm that offers some type of maintenance program.
Expertise in Action
As an attorney, I have seen the impact a properly executed estate plan can have on a client. A significant weight is lifted from their shoulders, and anxiety over the future dissipates. I’ve also seen the heartache that happens when a family member made no plan whatsoever. I know the value our firm brings to the community. The privilege of having legal knowledge and resources at my fingertips isn’t beyond me either. I’d be remiss to waste an opportunity to use my expertise and resources to plan for my own family as I would for a client in the conference room.
When creating my own estate plan, I was able to step into the client’s shoes. I received a better understanding of their goals and fears, by facing my own goals and fears. Not only did walking through the process bring me clarity and peace of mind, but it also made me a better attorney.