Alan Thicke

Sometimes even well-designed estate plans go sideways. Dealing with the death of a family leader is bad enough, but when you add the complexity of a second marriage things get even more difficult.

Alan Thicke, the Canadian-born actor who played the beloved dad from the TV series Growing Pains died suddenly from a heart attack in December 2016. He had been divorced and remarried, bringing significant wealth and children into his third marriage. Mr. Thicke had implemented a comprehensive estate plan in 1998 and he and his third wife, Tanya, entered into a prenuptial agreement before their marriage in 2005. On the surface, everything seemed to line up strategically for a successful transition. But as happens all too often, Mr. Thicke’s widow and his children have found themselves at odds over the estate.

As difficult as the conversations can be, the storm clouds brewing over Alan Thicke’s estate are a reminder of the importance not only of careful and thorough estate planning and remarriage planning, but the importance of asset protection planning and clear, consistent, managed communication among all the parties involved in an estate plan. Even good estate plans can break down if family communication fails.

At Evergreen Legacy Planning we focus not only on careful plan designs and implementation, but also on promoting communication that leads to harmony, not discord. As Mr. Thicke’s family is discovering, sometimes the most painful growing pains happen after someone has passed away.

Contact us now to begin the process of designing and implementing a comprehensive plan so your family can learn from the growing pains of others and not have to endure that pain themselves.