February 17, 2023 / Press
Jonathan Forster Speaks to the Wall Street Journal on the Biggest Mistakes People Make with Their Wills
Jonathan Forster was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal article, “The Biggest Mistakes People Make With Their Wills,” which discussed the areas where people often fall short when preparing their wills.
While cryptocurrencies and NFTs are not all that different from fiat currencies and physical art, each requires a different planning structure for passing them on. They are primarily held in digital wallets but can be stored in multiple ways that can be difficult to track if not explained in detail. “If you have a digital wallet and no one has that information, the crypto is lost,” Jonathan explained.
Later, the article highlights the communication aspect of wills. Jonathan illustrated how conflicts between heirs can arise when clients aren’t clear about their intentions with their beneficiaries. Jonathan used an example of a client who was dividing her will between her two children, one of whom was a teacher, the other, a doctor. The mother wanted to leave more to her daughter, who, as a teacher, earned less money than her brother. But the mother wanted her son, the doctor, to understand her reasoning. By explaining the difference in inheritance assets to her son, the mother ensured her son won’t “have to spend the rest of his life wondering if he did something wrong or whether his mom didn’t love him as much,” Jonathan explained. “At least they got to have that conversation.”