Whether you liked it or not, the media force fed us every minute of the details of Anna Nicole Smith’s death, custody battle, and estate planning nightmare. One of the biggest mistakes that Smith made when writing her will in 2001 was she put a clause that no future children would be a part of the will. Her intentions were good at the time. She wanted her son, Daniel, to take full control of her estate upon her death. However, when he died, the will lapsed and state intestacy took over and made Danielynn the sole heir of the estate. Had Daniel not died, Danielynn would have been out in the cold in terms of her estate. Although, she probably would have changed the provision eventually.

The one thing that I learned the most is the importance of appointing a guardian if your children are minors. It scares me to think about all of the taxes that will be imposed on my money and who could end up with my assets after I die if I don’t have a will, but it would HORRIFY me to think that the state had full control of appointing a guardian to my children if I don’t have a will. If you don’t care about protecting your estate, you NEED to protect your children. If you have somewhat significant asset and/or have children, PLEASE go out and write a will TODAY! This is one time that I would definitely recommend using an attorney that specializes in estate planning. They know all of the tax laws, and they’ll help you protect your assets and family.

Check out the Kiplinger’s article about five things you can learn from the Anna Nicole Smith debacle.