Lessons Are There For The Learning In Actor’s Death

The tragic death of talented actor Philip Seymour Hoffman from an apparent drug overdose offers some important lessons for people least likely to learn them.

“One key lesson is the need to make an estate plan when one is going through a personal crisis or a downward spiral,” according to a posting to a legal news website.

The posting points out that Hoffman, after more than two decades of sobriety following drug and alcohol problems when he was in his early 20s, relapsed and underwent rehab again in May 2013.

“It is easy to put off getting one’s affairs in order as it is not pleasant to think about one’s own demise or to find time to do it with a fast-paced lifestyle, but when one has a life-altering wakeup call such as being checked into a drug rehab facility it is important to take that chance to get important things like estate planning done,” the site states. “Other such wakeup call type events to inspire action could be a major medical incident or death of someone close. There are only so many second chances or pauses in the action of life to get one’s business in order.

“Another important lesson from Hoffman is the need to do estate planning any time there are minor children involved. Hoffman is survived by three minor children at his death. Making sure that there is a guardian and a backup guardian and that any inheritance that a child receives is properly managed are key components of any estate plan.”