THE THREE SECRET WORDS OF ESTATE PLANNING

Accidental disinheritance happens. People who were not the intended beneficiaries of an estate often end up with all or part of it through divorce or other family circumstances.

To prevent a son-in-law from inheriting your money, use the three secret words of estate planning, namely:

"ONLY MY ISSUE"

Your "issue" means your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It very narrowly limits those who can benefit from your estate.

If you create an irrevocable trust ... a not-revocable trust ... and you state in that trust that it is to benefit "only my issue," you prevent your money from ever going to an unintended beneficiary.

In case you want adopted children to benefit, you may expand on the three secret words. You may want to say, "Only my issue ... or legally adopted children of myself and my issue ..."

The three secret words of estate planning are extremely valuable. You may want to use them.

For further information, see Spendthrift Trust.