WSJ article promotes review of estate plans

On February 10, 2010, the Wall Street Journal published Making A Plan Amid Estate-Tax Limbo, by Arden Dale.  The article emphasizes that people should have their estate plans reviewed:  

Various scenarios now in Congress “are all subject to flux, and I don’t know if I want to spend that kind of money when I feel the road could be taking more turns,” said Brennan, an entertainment lawyer in New York.

An estate-plan review doesn’t always come cheap. The tab, according to Michael Halloran, president of the National Association of Estate Planners, can range from $5,000 to $100,000 depending on the intricacy of the plan and size of the estate.

Estate planners say it’s better to spend the money and be safe than be sorry. In a worst-case scenario, an intended heir may wind up getting nothing because of a misstep. The size of the estate in question–$1 million or $10 million–”may not matter as much as the fact that the kids have gotten everything and the spouse nothing, or the other way around,” said Jim Kronenberg, a principal and associate fiduciary counsel at Bessemer Trust.

Kronenberg is urging everyone to have a review, or visit a lawyer to see if one is necessary. Not every client has taken the advice, he said.

See also Is most estate planning on hold right now? (2/4/10)