"Veronica Mars" and Myths of Estate Planning

"Veronica Mars" is one of my favorite television shows -- it cleverly combines elements of "Twin Peaks" (murder mystery), "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (tough-as-nails heroine) and "The O.C." (clever humor and wealthy environment), which is one of the reasons it inspires such rabid devotion. 

Tuesday's episode featured an estate planning attorney meeting with the surviving spouse and children of a woman who committed suicide (we think -- the woman's son believes she may still be alive).  The scene couldn't have lasted more than two minutes, but it contained three elements that don't ring true from an estate planning perspective:

1. The estate planner was present to perform a reading of the Will.  In my experience, this never happens -- the beneficiaries either know about the contents of the Will before the decedent's death, or I send them a copy of the Will afterward.  This approach is a lot less dramatic than announcing to the family (on a dark and stormy night, if possible) that black sheep Cousin Norbert has been cut out of the Will, but much more efficient.

2. The decedent disinherited her surviving spouse.  In most states (including California, where "Veronica Mars" takes place, and Illinois), a spouse can't really be disinherited via a Will (it may be possible in Illinois via other methods, but I'll save that discussion for another time).  A spouse who is disinherited can essentially invalidate that part of the Will, and then collect a certain portion of the decedent's estate (usually 1/3rd or 1/2). 

3. The Will gave away very specific property.  I'm paraphrasing, but the attorney said something like the following while reading the Will: "I leave my Morgan Stanley investment account (number xxxxx), valued at $180,000, to my son."  This type of provision would never be included in a Will, for practical reasons: What happens if the account is closed prior to the decedent's death? What happens if the account increases or decreases in value -- was the intent for the son to receive that particular account, or an amount of money equal to the value of the account when the Will was signed?  Because of these problems, I try to have my clients define their estate generally, in terms of the "residue," rather than by reference to every single asset that is owned.