On June 12th, 2019, a Cessna 182 Skylane was forced to make an emergency water landing just outside of Orlando, Florida on Lake Maitland.

Media outlets like the Orlando Sentinel have unfortunately reported that there were no survivors of the crash.

The odds of a plane crashing are only about one in 11 million, yet this is a thought that seemingly crosses everyone’s mind when they travel. 

Despite these concerns, and reminders of plane crashes in the news, an overwhelming majority of Americans fail to prepare for such events.

Maitland Plane Crash Raises Concerns

One of the practice areas here at the Finity Law Firm is estate planning and it’s events like the Maitland plane crash on June 12th, 2019 that raise concerns for our lawyers. During such a tragic event, we cannot help but think about the families, friends, and the communities that will be affected by such a disaster.

After the first responders leave the scene, the ongoing legal issues involved with this matter are just starting to begin.

Common questions and issues include:

  • Did they have a will or a trust?
  • Was life insurance set up and creditor protected?
  • If the plane was defective, and the families recover, or his estate, will this payout be protected properly by flowing into a trust and avoid potential creditors that the beneficiaries of his estate can have?
  • If the pilot is personally sued, was he or she properly insured to ensure the estate would not have to defend a lawsuit out-of-pocket?
  • If they did not have a trust or a will, how were the properties, bank accounts, investment accounts titled? Will assets be forced to pass through probate? If they have to go through probate, how backed up is their local court system? (Learn more about probate here)
  • Will the beneficiaries be able to wait months sometimes years if there are delays in the probate process?

With the peak summer vacation travel time quickly approaching, it is as good of a time as ever to review your current estate plan, or to initiate the process, in order to remove any unnecessary pressures prior to traveling. Holiday travel is one of the largest motivators of families and married couples to tighten up their estate plans.

However, far too many clients will wait until just days before their trip before they begin the process. Estate planning is just far too important and vital for both you, your family and your legacy to attempt to put something together at the 11th hour.

We always tell our clients, failing to plan is planning to fail. For more information on estate planning, visit our estate planning page here.

Our law firm offers FREE initial consultations so give us a call today at (407) 636-4066 or fill out our contact form here.

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