Taking Control - Philip Seymour Hoffman's Directive for his Children
It is all about control, that is what I tell clients and seminar attendees. By doing a will, you are taking control of the situation if you should die. Who is in charge, where assets should go, and if you have children, who should raise them. In the case of Philip Seymour Hoffman, he was survived by his partner, the mother of his three children. At the time he wrote his will in 2004 the couple only had one child (there were three at his death). And Mr. Hoffman took control via his will, requesting that the child be raised in New York City so that he would be surrounded by its arts and culture. If that were not possible, then either Chicago or San Francisco. And if that were not possible, the child should visit the list of cities at least twice a year. As an estate planning attorney (and mother to two young children), I applaud Mr. Hoffman for this level of detail. Wills can be viewed as stale and dry documents, but they can also promote your...
