While in probate court last week I also observed another hearing that brought home some of the pitfalls of failing to plan.

A father and daughter were in court with the father's attorney.   The daughter was about 15.  The girl's mother had died and left her an inheritance.  Maybe life insurance, or maybe the parents had been divorced and the daughter was the mother's closest relative. 

However it came to be, Mom apparently had not done any estate planning.  How do I know this?  It was obvious from the fact that this family was in court.  More specifically, the family was in court because of a conflict with the mother's sister, i.e. the young girl's aunt.  The aunt and the father had been appointed co-conservator of the girl's inheritance.  A conservatorship would not have been needed if the mother had a will or living trust which established a minor's trust for the daughter.  So, it's a good bet that the mother had not had any planning.

It's also a good bet that the mother hadn't given any thought to who would manage her daughter's inheritance.  I surmise this from the fact that the father was not sole conservator but that the mother's side of the family felt it important that there be a co-conservator to serve with the father.  Then again, from what I saw they were right to want someone to serve as co-conservator with him.

The father was upset because he felt the daughter's inheritance was not being invested properly.  Fair enough.  But his plan was to invest all of the inheritance, about $200,000, in gold and silver coins.  Talk about failure to diversify. 

The daughter was upset that the aunt was investing the money in a diversified portfolio based on the advice of a professional financial planner.   I found it sad that the father had placed the girl in a position where she was forced to take sides.