There are all manner of different after-death gifts that a person can set up their estate plan to make. This can be seen in some news that has arisen regarding a recently-deceased famous college basketball coach. The coach arrayed part of his estate plan towards making a nice gesture towards his former players.
The famous college coach in question is Dean Smith. Smith coached the men’s basketball team of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for over three decades. He retired from coaching in 1997. Smith passed away this February.
Reportedly, one of the things Smith directed to have occur upon his death was for $200 checks to be sent to around 180 of his former players. Smith also directed that a message be included along with the checks. This message was: “enjoy a dinner out compliments of Coach Dean Smith.”
A trust Smith had set up sent the former players the checks and letters explaining the checks earlier this month.
As this illustrates, there are all sorts of different things a person may want to have happen with their assets after they die.
An important thing for people to know is that estate planning is not some monolithic thing that can only be used to meet a few limited cookie-cutter goals. Rather, estate plans can be highly customized to a person’s goals and can be set up in a wide range of different ways.
Elder law and estate planning attorneys here in Massachusetts can help individuals in the state understand the different ways estate planning devices, such as wills and trusts, can be customized to meet unique goals and can assist them in constructing an estate plan that accurately reflects their particular wishes and desires regarding what will occur when they pass away.
Source: ABC News, “Dean Smith’s Trust Sends $200 Checks to His UNC Lettermen,” March 26, 2015