Don’t Make This $80M Estate Planning Mistake!

Estate planning is about preparing for the unexpected, and few situations illustrate this better than the passing of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy, just last month. With a 30-year age gap, one would easily assume Betsy would outlive Gene by many years. In fact, she was his caretaker! Instead, they died just days apart – she was determined to have likely passed first – raising a critical estate planning question: What happens when spouses pass away close together? Enter: the Simultaneous Death Clause.

A simultaneous death clause is a provision in a will or trust that determines how assets are distributed if two people die within a short period of time. Without this clause, your state dictates who is presumed to have died first. This can lead to unintended transfers, legal confusion, and tax complications.

How Betsy Hackman’s Estate Plan Helped Avoid Legal Issues

Fortunately, Betsy Hackman’s will contained a simultaneous death clause, stating that if she and Gene died within 90 days of each other, their deaths would be legally treated as simultaneous. This meant that her assets did not transfer to Gene first. Instead, her assets went to her beneficiaries – charity – as she had intended. Without this clause, her assets would have passed to his beneficiaries, since he was found to be the surviving spouse.

Sound intriguing? Have questions?

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