When naming beneficiaries, my dad did a lot of things right … and one wrong thing. I blame myself for the mistake. My dad named his “estate” as the beneficiary of his life insurance policies. The insurance company will not talk to us because they don’t’ know ‘who’ the estate of Frank Thompson is. We are now in the process of hiring a Texas attorney (his state of residence) and going through the probate process. Probate is expensive and it is a lengthy process.

This could have been avoided if he had named his trust or his six children as the beneficiaries. It could have also been avoided if I had checked this stuff before my dad passed away. The inner chatter has not let up: “I am a CFP and a licensed insurance agent … I should have known better … why didn’t I help my dad with this?” Maybe it was because I trusted that my dad has his affairs in order. That’s not entirely true. I never felt comfortable asking.