The best way to kick off football season? Estate planning, obviously. So, huddle up! If you can follow a football game (or at least survive your office fantasy football league draft), then you can understand estate planning. Both require strategy, avoiding turnovers, and ensuring your fans end the season with reason to celebrate.
The Quarterback = You
You are the quarterback of your estate, cool under pressure and always ready with a game-winning drive. Every decision you make sets the play in motion, decides who gets the ball, and keeps your team charging downfield. When there’s no clear leader on the field, the whole team feels the chaos (I’m looking at you, 2022 Colts).
Think Aaron Rodgers. Everyone knows his retirement is coming, but without a succession plan, the Steelers could be left scrambling. Estate planning works the same way. Without an estate plan and someone calling the plays, your family won’t know how to move the ball downfield.
The Playbook = Your Estate Plan
Your estate plan is the playbook for your team. No team takes the field without one, unless you’re the Browns. It lays out the strategy, plays, and full script from kickoff to the final whistle. Your will, trust, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and beneficiary designations all play starring roles, and the playbook ensures that each player knows their position.
As the quarterback, your estate plan lets you call the plays, pick your favorite receivers, and keep everyone on the same page. Without it, the state’s default playbook takes over, and your assets may end up with a distant cousin you barely know or be split in ways you never intended.
The Offensive Line = Will & Trust
Every quarterback needs protection, and in estate planning, that protection comes from your will and trust. They’re your offensive line: unlikely to win the Heisman, but without them the quarterback gets flattened.
A will is your set of instructions to the court. It can spell out who inherits your property, who serves as guardian for minor children, and who will carry out your wishes (your executor).
A trust gives you even stronger protection. Assets placed in a trust can avoid probate, saving your family time, money, and stress. Trusts act as guardrails, ensuring money is managed until children are mature, shielding assets from creditors or divorce, and potentially lowering taxes in larger estates.
Together, your will and trust keep your wishes intact, protect your family from legal blitzes, and keep the ball moving in the right direction. Without them, you risk turnovers in the form of delays, court costs, and unnecessary conflict, all of which can derail your team’s chance of winning.
The Wide Receivers = Beneficiaries
Wide receivers are the playmakers who score touchdowns. Your beneficiaries are the same. They’re the people or charities who ultimately receive the legacy you leave behind. But just like a quarterback needs to clearly call the route, you need to clearly name your beneficiaries. Otherwise, the wrong person might try to intercept.
The Running Back = General Power of Attorney
Running backs are the Swiss Army knives of football. They carry the ball, block, catch passes, and occasionally pull off a trick-play touchdown. Your general power of attorney fills the same role. The person you appoint as your attorney-in-fact can manage business interests, handle real estate, pay bills, file taxes, and even make tax-savvy gifts on your behalf. They are your workhorse that keeps the drive alive if you are sidelined. Without them, your offense can stall faster than the Chicago Bears in the red zone.
The Center = Healthcare Power of Attorney
The center touches the ball every play and is closest to the quarterback. That’s your healthcare agent: the person who knows your medical wishes and communicates them to doctors when you can’t. They don’t call new plays; they execute the plan you’ve already set. When you can’t call an audible, they snap the ball, keep the play moving, and ensure that your wishes are honored when it matters most.
The Opposing Team’s Defense = Creditors, Taxes & Emergencies
The opposing team’s defense is always trying to sack the quarterback. In estate planning, those defenders are creditors, taxes, and unexpected emergencies. A solid plan uses legal blockers, such as trusts, powers of attorney, and tax strategies, to neutralize the defense and protect your assets from being tackled.
Special Teams = Advance Directive for a Natural Death
Special teams don’t always make the highlights, but they often decide the outcome of the game. That’s the role of your advance directive, also called a living will. It clearly states your wishes regarding life support if you’re terminally ill or permanently unconscious. This document may not be used often, but when it is, it gives doctors clear guidance and spares your family from painful choices.
Overtime = Probate
No winning quarterback wants overtime. In overtime, the rules change, and the outcome is no longer fully in your hands. In estate planning, overtime is probate: the court process your family must go through if your estate is not structured to avoid it.
Probate is slow, expensive, and entirely public. It can take months or even years to resolve, leaving your family trapped in a process that feels endless. The good news is that with the right strategy, probate is often avoidable. A trust, updated beneficiary designations, and properly titled assets can keep your estate out of court and help you finish the game in regulation. Your loved ones will be grateful because avoiding probate spares them from a process that drags on longer than a Jets rebuild.
The Kicker = Beneficiary Designations
The kicker may not play every down, but when the game is on the line, they’re often the difference between winning and losing. In estate planning, the kicker is your beneficiary designations on accounts like retirement funds, life insurance, and bank accounts. With the right names in place, assets can pass directly to the people you choose, outside of probate, with no blocked kicks or last-second drama.
If you fail to name a beneficiary, then those accounts end up in probate, which delays distribution and sometimes sends the ball to players you never drafted in the first place.
Penalty Flags = Common Estate Planning Mistakes
Even with a strong game plan, mistakes can cost you yards. Here are some of the most common flags you’ll see thrown in estate planning:
- Delay of Game: Waiting too long to sign your documents. The clock runs out eventually.
- Illegal Formation: Not titling assets properly (like forgetting to move real estate into your trust). Looks good on paper, but breaks down on the field.
- False Start: DIY forms downloaded online or LegalZoom wills. They look like the real deal, but they don’t hold up when the opposing team’s defense shows up.
- Fumble: Not updating your estate plan after life changes, such as marriage, divorce, the birth of children or grandchildren, and business changes. Dropping the ball mid-drive is never good.
- Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Choosing the wrong players, like an unreliable executor, trustee, or power of attorney. Bad picks create family drama and costly penalties.
- Offsides: Beneficiary designations that don’t match your will or trust. Conflicting instructions cause confusion and delays.
The best way to avoid penalties is with a clear playbook, proper execution, and regular reviews. Consistency and discipline keep your plan strong, and without them, an estate plan can fall apart in crunch time, just like the Cowboys in January.
Coach & Coach Staff = Your Legal Team.
No quarterback succeeds alone, and estate planning works the same way. Think of me as your Andy Reid, only without his iconic mustache. I am not the one throwing passes or running the ball, but I help design the playbook, prepare the team, and call adjustments when the game changes. My role is to guide you through your options and make sure your strategy works when it matters most.
Behind each coach is a full coaching staff. In our office, that includes colleagues who focus on estates, business, tax, real estate, and even litigation. We collaborate across these areas because an estate plan rarely fits into a single box. For example, a family business might raise succession and tax questions, real estate may need to be deeded into a trust or LLC, and if disputes come up later, litigation may be necessary to protect your wishes.
Every part of the coaching team has a specialty, and by working together, we can cover the field. That way, your plan is not just legally sound but also practical, comprehensive, and protected from every angle.
The Super Bowl = Signing Day
Plays on paper don’t win games, but execution on the field does. Signing day is your Super Bowl. We review every detail, make sure signatures and witnesses are in place, and confirm where original copies should be stored. When the documents are signed, sealed, and delivered, you have officially won the championship.
The Final Whistle
Estate planning isn’t about avoiding the game. It’s about having the right playbook, players, and coaching staff to make sure your team wins. Don’t leave your legacy to a coin toss or a blown call. Call the plays now, protect your team, and leave the field a champion.
About the Author
Sydney ter Avest is an associate attorney in Carruthers & Roth’s Business, Tax, and Estates practice. She assists clients with corporate and business law matters, estate planning, and wealth transfer and preservation. Sydney received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her J.D. from Campbell University School of Law, where she served as both a teaching scholar and research assistant and received multiple academic honors in civil and criminal law.
Sydney can be reached at (336) 478-1187 or sta@crlaw.com.