Tony Hsieh’s Reminder
posted December 7, 2020
YEAR-END THOUGHTS, PART 1
As we fast approach year’s end, the daily rhythm of our lives seems hijacked by an ever growing checklist– charitable giving decisions, gathering ingredients for that “one” holiday recipe from childhood, and posting holiday greetings, just to name a few.
Yet, more so than years past, one’s particularly drawn to take careful stock of 2020, even as we all eagerly await 2021. It is in this spirit of introspection that I share the poignant implications of the death of Tony Hsieh, the Taiwanese American founder/ex-CEO of Zappos. According to one report, Hsieh, who passed recently at age 46, left behind an estate of $800MM without a will, thus forcing his family to sort out the entangled legal web.
Undoubtedly, Hsieh’s example is an extreme one.
It is, however, no less useful in illustrating the importance of estate planning documents in any financial planning, before you contemplate any other aspects of your financial life. Even if you’re way ahead on this curve, dust off those documents to ensure they remain valid in reflecting your current wishes. If nothing else, 2020 should have taught each of us “black swan” events are perhaps not as exotic as one may have thought.