The Need for U.S. Service Men and Women to Understand the Importance of Estate Planning

When people think about Memorial Day, we obviously think about our Veterans and the soldiers that are currently serving in the Armed Forces. In addition to all of the articles and news stories about the brave and wonderful things that they do, I think of estate planning. Many individuals that serve in the military are young men and women who many times leave high school and head out for service with very few assets to their name. However, military income and benefits are acquired over the course of time and the course of their service. What many of these men and women need to understand is the importance of having their estate planning documents in order.

I recently had a situation where a young man joined the service and had acquired some benefits and some income over the course of his service. The soldier unfortunately died in service and there were benefits that he was entitled to, including a life insurance policy. Since this particular soldier had not designated a beneficiary and had no Last Will and Testament, the Michigan Probate laws dictated how those assets would be divided. Unfortunately, with no Last Will and Testament and no beneficiary designation, the assets are to be divided between his mother and father. The importance of this story is that this young man had had no relationship with his father since birth and his mother had raised him. Unfortunately, the State of Michigan and our Probate laws do not take this into account and merely indicate that if an individual does not take the time to make their wishes know then the State of Michigan will decide how those assets are to be divided. Ultimately, the mother and father divided the proceeds of this policy and other assets. I anticipate that it would have been the soldier’s intention to leave any and all assets under benefits that he would have received to the mother that raised him. The point of this story is that when you do not take the time to put your wishes in writing, the State of Michigan will make the decision for you and as you can see from this story the State of Michigan does not always know the circumstances of your upbringing or the circumstances involving your family. Having at least a simple Will can make your wishes known.