DISCUSSING what will become of your estate after you pass away can be a challenging conversation with your family.

However, failing to do so may result in a decline in generational wealth and a lack of understanding regarding wealth creation, leading to a vicious cycle of poverty. Death is as certain as taxes, so it is vital to prepare a will or engage in estate planning to ensure that your children, grandchildren, and other loved ones can lead secure and manageable lives.

Failure to plan ahead may result in:

• your family or lawyer cannot locate your will.

• your failure to establish a trust that specifies how your assets are to be managed.

• your neighbours, tenants, or family member secretly attempting to or have claimed your house or land through adverse possession, particularly if you live overseas or the family or an attorney does not manage your estate.

• your children or other relatives disinheriting your common-law spouse, particularly when discord exists.

• the government inheriting your assets.

• the administrator general being unable to finalise the estate because the person claiming fails to provide documentation to either initiate or conclude the administration of the estate, for example, a death certificate of the deceased and a birth certificate of a child with the father’s name endorsed on it.

• your family incurring higher processing fees and government taxes.

• your family being unable to access your bank funds because they cannot locate the account information or lack the proper documentation.

• your bank vault information not shared with your executors, family, or attorney.

• your family being unaware of or unable to locate all of your assets.

• your life insurance policy not being updated to remove an ex-spouse or deceased beneficiary.

• your will not being updated to reflect changes to assets or to remove an ex-spouse or deceased executor or beneficiary.

• you neglecting to pay property taxes and insurance in your country of birth (for migrants).

• you failing to officially notify the National Land Agency of the death of a joint holder or tenant in common on your duplicate certificate of title.

• your car title not being collected from Tax Administration Jamaica and included with your other assets.

• your digital assets account password not being shared with executors or loved ones for them to access your YouTube,
Instagram, TikTok, etc.

• you failing to appoint a trustee for your minor children to ensure they will be cared for in the event of your death.

• you failing to obtain the necessary court orders to protect your minor or special needs children from physical or emotional abuse by a partner or family member committing the abuse.

• you failing to make quarterly or yearly payments on estate planning instruments; for example, education plans for your children, insurance policies, annuities, or certain investment accounts.

Engaging in thorough estate planning could mean that your children and grandchildren do not have to obtain high mortgages or pay exorbitant rents to secure housing, helping to break the cycle of poverty.

Written by Venice Williams. Attorney-at-Law: Lewis, Smith, Williams & Co. Email: vwilliams@lswlegal.com