Business

Estate Planning Essentials: Understanding the Ramifications of Not Creating a Will

Published

2 years ago

January 11, 2024

The realities of death aren’t something most people are accustomed to frequently discussing, but certain things like estate planning and creating a will are crucial for everyone to consider. Death is inevitable for all of us, and the ramifications of failing to plan ahead often prove significant.

“While we may not like to think about death, it’s crucial to plan for it,” says Attorney John Wood of Grant Park Legal Advisors. “Those who think they don’t need a will may want to consider the consequences of going without one.”

What is a will?

There is a common misconception that wills are only meant for those who are incredibly wealthy or possess a significant amount of assets that will have to be divided among their relatives. According to Wood, however, everyone can benefit from a will.

“A will is simply a legal document that outlines your wishes regarding the distribution of your assets after your death,” Wood explains. “If you pass away without one, your assets may not go to the people you intended. Instead, the laws of intestacy come into play to determine who your assets are left to.”

The laws of intestacy

The laws of intestacy vary from state to state, but in general, they will prioritize immediate family members, such as spouses and children. Problems arise when a person may have specific ideas or desires on who should receive their assets but fail to have the legal documentation to make their wishes known.

“Each person has unique situations, and wills account for these circumstances,” Wood says. “Perhaps they’re not particularly close to their children, or have no children, and wish for their assets to go to nieces and nephews, or they have no family at all and want what they leave behind to go to a favorite charity. Whatever the case, these circumstances should be outlined legally so a person’s last wishes can be fulfilled.”

Putting the future of minor children in jeopardy

No one likes to think about dying and leaving behind young children, but it happens. “If you have children who are still minors, creating a will is especially crucial,” Wood notes. “A will can specify who will be appointed guardian of your children should something happen to you.”

If a person of one’s choice is not appointed, the decision will ultimately go to a court, and their criteria for who will make an appropriate guardian could differ wildly from one’s own. “This can lead to a lengthy and costly legal battle that can further traumatize your children,” Wood explains.

Unnecessary taxes and fees

Additionally, when someone dies without a will, their estate may be subject to unnecessary taxes and fees. Their estate will go to probate, where courts will appoint an executor to distribute their assets.

“In Illinois and many other states, when there is no will, the court will require a bond to ensure the executor follows the law and distributes the assets correctly,” Wood explains. “This bond is an insurance policy essentially to insure the estate and heirs against malfeasance by the executor or administrator.”

One potentially substantial fee that can be avoided is the probate bond. In many instances when the will waives the bond, the estate will save more than the cost of drafting the will.

“This means some of your loved ones may be on the hook for these fees and taxes incurred,” Wood says. “The executor’s fees alone can be substantial and eat into any money any beneficiaries would possibly receive, and if your estate is subject to estate taxes, your beneficiaries may have to pay a significant amount of money to the government.”

Your business may be affected

If one owns a business, dying without a will can have especially dire consequences. “Your business could be forced to go through probate, which often leads to lengthy legal battles and financial losses,” Wood observes.

The unnecessary taxes and fees Wood previously discussed can also hit one’s business. As such, all business owners should also have a clear succession plan within their wills to ensure that either passing on or closing their business goes smoothly after their death.

You could leave loved ones without financial support

If someone is the sole breadwinner in their family, dying without a will could leave them completely without financial support. “While an estate is in probate, the deceased’s family may suffer immediate financial instability,” says Wood. “Creating an estate plan with a life insurance policy can ensure that your loved ones are financially supported even after your death.”

Death is a traumatic event for families and loved ones, but according to recent studies, roughly two-thirds of Americans either don’t have an up-to-date will or have no will at all. However, those same studies also show that higher inflation is causing more Americans to consider estate planning. Younger Americans are also 10% more likely to have a will or estate plan than in 2020, largely due to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whatever the impetus may be, it seems that more people are realizing the importance of having a will and planning for what will happen once they pass away. As they continue to learn about the value of estate planning, attorneys like John Wood will be there to guide them through creating wills and making sound plans for the future.

Business

Why Victorious PR is the Leading PR Agency for AI Companies

Published

2 hours ago

April 24, 2026

Matthew Wiles

Key Takeaways

Victorious PR helps AI companies turn complex, technical products into clear, compelling narratives that earn coverage in top-tier outlets like Forbes, VentureBeat, and TechCrunch.
Through campaigns for companies like Olas and Cluely, Victorious PR has consistently transformed emerging AI startups into recognized voices with strong media presence and industry credibility.
Victorious PR operates on a weekly placement model that builds compounding visibility rather than relying on isolated press releases that fade quickly.

An AI founder builds technology that could transform how entire industries operate. The product works. The team is strong. However, when investors search for the company name, they find nothing. When enterprise buyers evaluate vendors, the startup gets filtered out because nobody on the committee recognizes it. The engineers the founder wants to recruit are joining competitors with inferior products and louder profiles.

This visibility gap kills promising AI companies every year. According to Statista, the global AI market is projected to reach $347 billion in 2026, with 37 percent annual growth expected through 2031. Thousands of startups are competing for the same investors, talent, and customers. Strong technology is no longer enough to stand out.

Victorious PR has built its reputation by closing that gap for founders who refuse to let great products die in obscurity. The agency blends deep understanding of emerging technologies with established relationships across the publications that influence how innovation is covered.

An Agency Built During Uncertainty

Victoria Kennedy founded Victorious PR in 2020, launching at the height of the pandemic when most businesses were scaling back. The agency reached seven-figure revenue within its first year. Victoria’s background differs from most PR founders. She is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and member of both the Rolling Stone Culture Council and the Fast Company Executive Board.

Before starting the agency, Victoria built a career as a classical opera singer, touring Europe and performing alongside artists like Andrea Bocelli. That experience in performance and personal branding shaped how she approaches client work today.

The agency operates on a press-every-week model. Clients do not wait months between placements, hoping something lands. They move through a steady stream of podcast appearances, thought-leadership articles, and features in respected publications. This consistency compounds over time, building brand recognition that shapes investor decisions and strengthens customer trust.

Victoria describes her philosophy directly. “I built this company with one goal in mind,” she says. “To lead with integrity and help impactful leaders and businesses be seen and heard to have a greater influence on the world.”

Campaigns That Produced Measurable Results

David Minarsch, CEO of Olas, faced a difficult challenge. Olas builds user-owned AI agents on blockchain infrastructure, positioning itself against centralized players like OpenAI. Despite raising $13.8 million, the company struggled to gain visibility outside technical circles. The technology worked, but the broader audience that needed to hear about it was not paying attention.

Victorious PR positioned David as a thought leader through ghostwritten op-eds and expert commentary that connected Olas to larger shifts in AI development. Coverage landed in VentureBeat, CoinDesk, Mashable, Forbes, Fast Company, and USA Today. The campaign generated placements in more than 100 publications, helping Olas reach the mainstream tech audience it needed.

Roy Lee, co-founder and CEO of Cluely, faced a different version of the same problem. Cluely had built an AI meeting assistant that worked well, but Lee needed visibility to attract serious investor attention. Victorious PR launched a campaign that secured coverage in TechCrunch, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Fast Company, Benzinga, Hackernoon, and MSN.

The press exposure put Cluely on the radar of major investors, resulting in a $20 million raise that included $15 million from Marc Andreessen at a16z. The coverage accomplished what cold outreach could not. It brought the right people to Lee’s door.

Why AI Companies Need Strategic PR Now

AI technology is often complex and misunderstood. Investors hesitate to fund projects they cannot explain to their partners. Enterprise buyers need confidence that a vendor will still be in business in two years. Generic PR approaches fail because they do not address these specific challenges.

Effective AI PR requires translating technical innovation into narratives that resonate beyond technical audiences. This means connecting product capabilities to business outcomes that journalists, investors, and customers actually care about. It means identifying angles that make a company newsworthy within the context of trends editors are already tracking.

The Victorious PR team focuses on finding the most compelling aspects of each client’s story and framing them within larger industry conversations. For AI companies, this often means linking technical work to discussions around autonomous agents, enterprise automation, and the intersection of AI with other emerging technologies. The approach has enabled the agency to build relationships with editors at publications including Forbes, Bloomberg, and Wired.

Their client roster includes partnerships with NVIDIA, Solana, and Olas. Placements span Forbes, VentureBeat, Fast Company, CoinDesk, and more than a hundred other outlets that influence how tech decision-makers think about innovation.

The companies that win in AI will not always be those with the best technology. They will be those who can explain why their technology matters and build brand recognition that influences decisions before the first pitch meeting.

About Victorious PR

Victorious PR is an award-winning full-service PR agency that helps businesses get featured in industry-specific media, local press, podcasts, and top publications to be seen as industry leaders in their fields. They have won numerous awards, such as the Global 100 Award for Best Public Relations & Communications Business of 2026, and are members of both the Rolling Stone Culture Council and the Fast Company Executive Board. To book a call to become the #1 Authority in your niche, click here: victoriouspr.com.