Badger Lawyer's Estate Planning Section

“Estate” is one of those concepts you could go through your whole life never understanding, and live just fine, thank you, and pass on in blissful ignorance, only to leave your loved ones the kind of mess you wouldn’t wish on your enemies.

Legally, an “estate” is everything you own. No matter how wide spread your property is, nor what form – land, stuff or money – if you own it, it is part of your estate. But this definition is unsatisfactory to get to the deeper concept of what an estate is. To get to that meaning, I have to resort to poetic metaphor, always dangerous for a lawyer. An estate, then, is the ripples left in the pond after the rock has disappeared forever in the murky deep. It is the spray of glass when a vase is knocked from a high perch. It is everything that once was held together by a single thread – you. An estate is the tangible aftermath of your passing. All those belongings, keepsakes, class rings, mementos of your life that hold stories only you know, and are special only because of your connection to them. The magic that is your spirit that holds together all these physical things, things that once you are gone are just things unconnected, that is your estate. And unless you tend to your estate before you move on, it will be left in a mess for your loved ones to sort out.

To educate yourself more about estate planning, visit the Education Center of our partner site WillNation. You’ll find there loads of content to explain the difference between wills and trusts, understand how to provide for your children, and how to leave instructions for loved ones as you approach death. And, if you decide to use WillNation, make sure to enter discount code “badgerlawyer” on the form. If you want more personal service, give us a call.