Robin Williams’ Estate Report: prenups, dementia and $50 Million

Recent reports about the estate and wealth of Robin Williams suggest that the  Oscar winning actor was challenged by dementia, and Parkinson’s. 

• Robin Williams evidently left a $50 Million Estate and a
• Prenuptial agreement with his last wife
• His will leaves his estate to his three children

Dementia or Illness Cause Estate Experts to Focus on Health and Not Wealth

• While $50 Million is a lot of money, some estate experts may suggest that in cases where mental illness or health concerns are an issue, the focus of any good estate plan needs to consider more health related issues and not wealth
• Like what?
• Who’s going to make health care decisions for you if you cant?
• Is there a power of attorney to assist with simple things like paying your taxes and bills and the more personal things like getting your prescriptions and getting you to the doctors?
• Do you have a living will expressing your desire if you are or have to be sustained on life support or by artificial means?
• If there were to be a guardianship, who would you want to be your guardian or conservator?
• Does the health care proxy or medical durable power of attorney jive with the rest of your plan and are they up to date?
• Are your fiduciaries all lined up and ready to go ?  Have too many of them (trustees, guardian, power of attorney, health care decision maker) and your affairs can get slowed down and bogged down.  After all, you don’t want your life decided on by committee, right? But having one person in all the roles gives that someone a LOT of power and authority.  Is there a way to balance power with oversight?  Are there too many faces when one or two people can handle multiple roles?
• Money is important, for sure, but so is one’s mental and physical well being.  Yes, you can plan for your health, just like wealth, taxes and trusts.