If there is one thing that you can’t ignore, and yet many people do is wills and estate planning. Estate planning is choosing who will receive your assets like money, valuables, and real estate in the event you can no longer look after them (incapacitated) or die.
The idea is that you can ensure the people you love will get what you want them to have; while you can decide much of the details in advance, an estate planning attorney will ensure that everything is airtight and covered correctly.
Here are a few things to help you with your estate planning.
It might surprise you just how much you actually have. Taking an inventory will make sure that everything you have is included in the will. Items that are not in the will can cause issues (although they can be dealt with legally).
You’ll need to include vehicles, antiques, personal possessions, jewelry, furniture, money, stocks and shares, and land or real estate.
Other things to consider are bank accounts, life insurance, retirement, health plans, and businesses.
The idea of you leaving your family can be a lot to process, but you’ll need to think about what will happen when you are no longer around. Here are a few factors:
Who will your children go to live with, and how will they be supported? Are there enough funds to help your chosen guardian?
It is also good to outline how you want your children to be raised.
Make sure you have the right life insurance for your family's needs if you need to leave them behind.
How do you want yourself and your things to be taken care of? Most often, ahead of dying, people can go through a lot. Cognitive functions can decline, mobility, health, and more. Having your wishes outlined ahead can help your family take care of you how you want.
Medical care directives, also known as a living, will put someone in charge of your care and carrying out your wishes when you can’t. It is also possible to give someone power of attorney for medical needs.
Limited power of attorney can be used for people who want to grant just a select amount of powers to someone.
Even when you have taken great care to outline everything that you can think of, your wishes might not have been all-inclusive. Consider some of the possible gaps:
Never leave any of the beneficiary sections blank because if it goes to probate, the goods will be distributed based on the legal requirements of your country - this can be for big things like property.
Ensure that you have the right names in the right places. Divorces and deaths in the family can mean the wrong people are listed. It may mean that without updates, ex-partners might be entitled to finance.
Insurance and retirement accounts should also have the incorrect beneficiary.
If you need to take care of these things for yourself or someone you love, taking care of yourself why you do it is important as it can feel quite heavy: The Importance Of Self-Care