You have no plan

8 Jun 2023 · 1 min

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In this brief spoken monologue, Jerry Taylor warns listeners that most people lack a legal plan for distributing their assets after death. He explains that without a will or trust, state intestacy laws dictate the outcome, often leaving stepchildren, unmarried partners, and even spouses with less than desired. He provides concrete examples from Tennessee (spouse gets one‑third, children split the rest) and Pennsylvania (spouse gets $30,000, remainder goes to parents if alive). Taylor urges viewers to immediately research their own state’s intestacy statutes, and if those default rules don’t match their wishes, to create a legal plan—specifically a trust—to avoid court involvement. He concludes by directing listeners to subscribe to his newsletter for further guidance.

Chapters

Most of you listening to me right now have nothing in place to say to the world what you want to happen to the things you have, the property, the money, when you exit the planet. And if you have a partner, I'm talking about when both of you are gone. So let me tell you a few things that are going to happen. If you have a stepchild, they're out of luck. They have no legal rights whatsoever. If you have an unmarried partner, the same thing is true. Because when you die with no legal plan, no will, no trust, the state you live in will decide what happens with everything you own. In Tennessee, if you die with a spouse and two or more children, your spouse gets 1/3 of your estate and your kids split the rest. In Pennsylvania, if you die with a spouse but no kids, your spouse gets the first $30,000. The rest of your estate would be split with your parents if they're still alive. Here's my suggestion to you. Go right now and research what your state's laws are if you die with no will and no trust. If it's not what you want to happen, you need a legal plan, and a trust avoids court. Subscribe to my newsletter in my profile link.