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Facing death, Utah couple write their Will
Last-minute document may not have been valid if couple had not survived.
A Utah couple survived a harrowing ordeal in a blizzard and brutal cold when they were stuck for more than a week in the barren backcountry northwest of Cedar City, Utah early this year. Begun as a simple weekend back-road trip into southern Utah to photograph wild horses, the couple’s brush with death started when their truck slipped off the road in Beaver County’s Modena Canyon and became trapped in the snow.
Unable to free their truck from the snow, they had to sparingly use the truck engine to generate heat, as they needed to conserve fuel and protect against fumes coming into the cabin. On the third day, the couple crafted a will that would have directed family members to care for their only child. They also recorded their last words on a cell phone in case they were found dead.
After enduring several more days of relentless snowstorms, subsisting on granola bars, peanut butter, and ultimately dog food (their dog was also with them), the couple had to walk more than ten miles over the course of three days from their snow-bound pickup truck to be rescued. At times, the snow was chest deep.
Luckily for them, they were rescued and their “will” was never put to the test. Needless to day, quality estate planning cannot be done while freezing to death. Whether the “document” they were able to scratch out in their snow-bound truck would have been accepted by the Utah courts is a matter of conjecture.
Don’t wait until you think you are at death’s door to address the important…and inevitable…issues of what will happen to your children and your estate after you die. A well-crafted and thought-out estate plan will cover the intricacies of current estate tax laws and provide the best means of protecting your wealth for your loved ones.