Often, estate plans fail to produce as their creators believed that they would. The good news is that many of the failures can be prevented. Typically, an estate plan doesn’t work because of human error or some other human element to the plan. For instance, a Louisiana heir may not be ready to inherit a home, money or other property from a parent or grandparent.

In some cases, this is because the heir doesn’t have the emotional maturity to handle newfound wealth. Therefore, a beneficiary could make bad investments, spend the money quickly or otherwise squander inherited wealth. Parents can reduce the chances of this happening by teaching their children the value of money as they grew up. Parents should also take some time to talk about the type of assets that they plan to leave to their children.

Doing so allows for greater family harmony after a parent passes away. According to a survey from BMO Wealth Management, 40 percent of respondents though that the estate plan that their parents made was not fair. Furthermore, 25 percent said that only a spouse knew where estate planning documents were. Without proper communication, surviving family members could be left bitter, angry or simply lost after an individual passes on.

There are many different tools that a person may make use of when going through the estate planning process. For instance, an individual could put assets in a trust or use beneficiary designations to transfer property immediately after death. These tools may help to avoid probate or otherwise make it easier for heirs to collect their inheritance in a timely manner.