Category >> Estate Planning

Actress Anne Heche passed away without a Last Will and Testament

Actress Anne Heche died on August 5th, 2022, after driving her car head on into a house in Los Angeles. Heche was declared brain dead on site but her other organs were harvested. Much like other celebrities we’ve written about, Anne Heche didn’t have a Last Will and Testament in place, but she did leave around a roughly (hefty) fortune of around $4 million, two sons, and a mess for her loved ones to sift through (legally). Without a Last Will and Testament, the latest update shows that her 20-year old son is slogging it out in court with his mother’s ex-boyfriend. They’re both fighting over Heche’s estate, which you can read about here.

Aside from the ensuing legal mess that Heche left behind for her loved ones, there is also the lingering emotional trauma for the victim of the house that Heche rammed into that fateful night in August. Heche slammed her car into the front end of a house and died on impact. The woman, Lynne Mishele, was working from home when the crash happened: the car slammed into the front of the house, the living room, and the laundry room. According to the lawsuit, the car only stopped “..a few feet away from her.” Both the woman and her three pets survived. Aside from losing all of her physical items, the emotional trauma caused by the crash has caused Lynne to develop (understandably) depression and anxiety. The woman is seeking damages from Heche’s estate for $2 million dollars. You can read more about it here.

Common-in-law partners and estate planning in various provinces

Messy breakups can be particularly hard on common-in-law relationships, particularly when there is no Last Will and Testament in place. While several provinces offer common-law couples the same legal protections as married couples, other provinces (such as Ontario) are lacking in the same arena of legal provisions for common-in-law couples. There is the added problem if one partner has an updated Will and the other half is just blowing it off. Perhaps the common-in-law spouse isn’t properly communicating about his/her wishes, or just doesn’t see the need to update (or start) a Last Will and Testament. In a study published by the Journal of Marriage and Family in August of 2022, Dr. Pugliese and her colleagues found many striking differences among common-in-law couples in several provinces: several provinces have certain legal protections for common-in-law couples should their spouses pass on. There are a few provinces lacking in this area: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Yukon and Newfoundland and Labrador do not guarantee anything if the common-in-law spouse dies. All the better to have a Last Will in place. Laws may take some time to be updated throughout every province, so a Will and other proper documentation (a Power of Attorney and a Living Will) is always good to have. A power of attorney is a legal document that allows an individual (the “principal”) to appoint another person (the “agent” or “attorney-in-fact”) to act on their behalf in financial and legal matters. A Living Will allows an individual to specify the types of medical treatment they do or do not want to receive, such as life-sustaining treatment or artificially administered nutrition and hydration.

The study also found that 22 percent of couples in common-in-law relationships would disperse their assets to their partners, compared with 86 percent of married couples, who would leave their spouses something. Common-in-law couples may be in big trouble if they a) don’t communicate their wishes to their partners, and b) don’t have an updated Last Will and Testament. You can read more about the study, here.

Mental Disorders and Estate Planning: More complex than you think

Mental or personality disorders can obviously be very difficult to live with: it can make consistent employment difficult, financial independence a struggle, and the social and emotional impact lifelong. People with mental disorders can be impulsive with money, difficulty managing a budget, and trouble maintaining whatever money you do come across. This can all further impact estate planning. Estate planning typically involves creating a number of legal documents, such as a Last Will and Testament, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives, but Estate planning is also the process of organizing and managing your assets during your lifetime and determining how they will be distributed after your death. It involves making decisions about things like who will inherit your assets, who will manage your affairs if you become incapacitated, and how your assets will be used to provide for your loved ones. These documents allow you to specify your wishes and appoint individuals to carry out your instructions.

Can personality disorders affect how you can plan for your estate? Obviously if you’re suffering from any type of major mental disorder it can affect your mental stability, your finances, and your entire life. That is why a new approach to estate planning may be different for individuals with these types of individuals: a consistent failure to modify one’s behaviour is a chronic problem when it comes to estate planning. When it comes to estate planning: due diligence, proper organization and financial management are all necessary. Estate Planners who have clients with disorders may find themselves frustrated if their clients are not taking their advice. It may not be the most fun topic to discuss, but this rarely discussed topic is an important and sensitive one: how do estate-planners deal with clients who have mental or intellectual disorders? Here’s a concise article on how estate-planners can handle this: Estate-planning and disorders.

Millennials and Gen Z are pretty charitable

Millennials and Gen Z are often stereotyped as freeloading, basement-dwelling, lazy, spoiled children. Millennials and GenZ are two generations that have suffered several years of economic setbacks, all of which has caused delays in major life milestones. Both generations have to struggle more than their parents will have to in order to pay back their student loans, get married, have children, etc. Instead, they are the ones often stereotyped as children; two generations of supposed children who live at home and refuse to grow up. At the very least, Millennials Millennials (born roughly around 1982) and GenZ (born roughly around 1996) are more empathetic and charitable than previous generations. The study (conducted by RBC) made some pretty surprising findings, including the following:

– 53% of Canadians between the ages of 18 to 14, and 25% of Canadians between the ages of 35 to 54 are leaving behind something for charity in their Wills (for those in those age ranges who actually have a Last Will, that is). Also, yes, the study included people in the age range of 54 years old, despite the fact that oldest Millennials are approaching the age of 40. This was still in stark contrast to people aged 55 and older, who, as the study pointed out, were less charitable in their Wills than their younger counterparts.

– Canadians are still shrugging off the idea of getting a Will done. The study found that a whopping 52% of Canadians don’t have a Last Will and Testament. This is perhaps likely due to the fact that many younger Canadians feel that they don’t have enough assets to leave behind. The study did not provide a number as to how many Canadians (overall) participated in the study. It’s no secret that Millennials and GenZ are struggling with their financial outlook, but they do what they can to help their fellow human beings.

Millennials and GenZ are pretty charitable.

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