Estate Planning Disaster

The following is a true-life horror story played out by recently deceased actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman. If you are a business owner, know a business owner, have some money in a bank account, and/or dislike paying taxes, please read on.

Melissa Montgomery-Fitzsimmons recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal about actor Seymour Hoffman’s lack of proper estate planning. The article is a fantastic look at some basic estate planning considerations. One of the main considerations is to decide whether it’s you or the IRS who has control over your estate.

Read through the article and the backup details from an interview with Mr. Hoffman’s accountant – he probably did not clearly understand the impact of his decisions.

You don’t have to have the wealth of a Hollywood star to feel the adverse effects of poor planning. (Well, it is really your heirs that will feel the effects.) We can’t help but apply this to our entrepreneur friends who make the same mistake from time to time.

Many business owners have a huge asset (their business) that needs to be considered in the event of their passing. Without some pre-planning, the business that is part of an estate may have to be sold or liquidated to pay taxes.

Talk to an Apex Business Advisor to connect you with a tax professional to assist in your planning.

Doug Hubler
President