The estate we're in....

   I was in on a conversation today with a person who had been working on some estate planning. I'm all about thinking ahead, but I don't really have any estate that requires much planning.

  I guess the purpose of estate planning is to insure that your assets and possessions won't be taken after you die. Sounds like a plan. It's always a good idea to protect your stuff. I suppose that's why people lock their doors and buy insurance.

 The thing is, estate planning isn't for protecting your stuff from your run of the mill bad guys. It is for protecting your stuff from the government.

  Stop and think about that for a minute. Some people spend thousands of dollars to protect their possessions from the government. Some people don't. People who spend thousands of dollars get to pass their possessions on to their children. People who don't, don't.

  I'm not sure when we reached the point in this country that we had to scheme and plan to keep the government from taking our stuff. Or when we reached the point that we believe it's alright for people who understand estate planning, and who can afford estate planners, to keep their stuff, but it's not alright for people who don't understand or can't afford it to keep theirs.

  There are a few things government should do. It should protect us from force and fraud.

  It shouldn't take anybody's stuff. Dead or alive.