Many of us want to leave something behind for our loved ones after we're gone. But we don't want our kids or grandkids to fight over the money and property they inherit, and, we don't want them to cash out their inheritance and go to Las Vegas either.

But in real world, these things happen all the time. I hear story after story from the lawyers about family battles and lawsuits over inherited money. The late real estate investor Carl Abe often said "people are funny about money". When people die, people get greedy. It's sad, but that's the truth.

As a hardworking real estate investor, you need a bullet proof strategy for what will happen after your passing. Here are 3 things you should never do to your family:

1. Leave your estate to your heir(s) without a strategy to avoid Probate:
Probate is simply a waste of time and money. The average probate in California takes 18 months. When my husband's brother died a few years ago, the probate took 3 years and depleted a large portion of his estate. What a waste! Please remember that a Will is not enough to avoid Probate. As a matter of fact a Will GUARANTEES probate.

2. Leave your estate to your heir(s) without a strategy to avoid Estate Taxes:
Estate tax can eat almost half of your estate value after the exclusion amount. The exclusion amount in 2006 is 2 million but it will be much lower in the future. Why would you want to give your hard earned money to the government instead of your loved ones?

3. Leave your estate as a huge lump-sum to your heir(s) without strategic payment and investing instructions:
People are funny about money. In many cases, people who inherit large chunk of money, just like people who win the lottery, waste that money on unwise purchases and spending. A young woman I know spent most of the money she inherited from her father on breast enlargements! If you're leaving a large estate to your heirs, set up a trust that safely keeps the money invested wisely and set up so they can receive money for a specific purpose YOU designate like college tuition, or on pre-specified events in their lives like graduation or buying a home. Also, if you're leaving real estate, never leave a single property to multiple heirs. It's practically guaranteed that will start a family feud. There are simple & effective strategies to avoid those problems.

Some people think "I don't care what happens after I die". I once felt that way, but I found that the stress caused by inherited wealth affects our children's or grand-children's marriages, or relationships between sisters and brothers. I've seen it happen more than once. Instead, by doing proper estate planning before its too late, you prevent wasted time and money, family feuds, & your name can even be remembered for generations after your passing by your descendants.

For more information, contact Tracy Taguchi at 310-800-6333 or mail@tracytaguchi.com.