While many people prefer to keep their financial affairs private, there are others who have no problem letting the entire world know about them. One young man in Philadelphia is learning the hard way that it is not a good idea to let the world know about your inheritance on social media.
Few details about the incident have been released to the public. However, police in Pennsylvania say that a 19-year-old made social media posts about some expensive jewelry he had recently inherited. Not a good idea, so it turns out.
This public posting led to a home invasion.
One morning, armed, masked men invaded the poster’s home and made reference to the social media posts during the robbery.
Penn Live has more on the story in an article titled “Pa. home robbed after man posts on social media about inheritance.”
This story highlights why most estate planning attorneys advise their clients to keep their estate plans private. Other people do not need to know what someone else will or has inherited. Period.
Accordingly, if the wrong people learn about an estate plan or an inheritance, then they know whom to target for a robbery or other criminal activity.
For help on how to keep your estate plan or inheritance private, visit an experienced estate planning attorney.
Please contact our office today at 239-225-7911 to schedule an appointment with Barbara M. Pizzolato if you are interested in protecting your legacy and need to create or update your estate plan. You may also wish to attend one of our free seminars.
Reference: Penn Live (February 8, 2015) “Pa. home robbed after man posts on social media about inheritance.”
