What You Need to Know Before You Write That Will
No one is excited about thinking about the end of life issues that face us. Unfortunately, if you don’t think about them, they create a bigger mess for your loved ones after you go. Taking the time to sit down and formulate a plan leaves a road map for your loved ones to follow, and makes handling your estate all that more easier. Remember that a will and end of life plans are not set in stone and can be changed.
First, you should think about any assets you have that you can assign beneficiaries for; these include bank accounts, retirement funds, life insurance policies, etc. The benefit of naming beneficiaries is that the property does not need to go through succession or probate. This means that your loved ones do not need to file any legal documents to obtain ownership of these accounts or proceeds because you have already named them as the beneficiary of the account. It reduces time, cost, and headache for your loved ones.
Secondly, you should talk to people you trust about becoming either an administrator or executor of your estate and about being your power of attorney. This is important because these people will be responsible for carrying out any of your wishes and for overseeing the accounting and handling of your estate. I always advise people to select people they know will follow their wishes because these positions carry significant responsibilities and decision making authority.
Third, you need to consider what—if any—living will or health care power of attorney decisions you want to make. These routinely include whether to remain on life support, what testing you are ok with having done if you are incapacitated, any surgeries you do or do not want if you are incapacitated, organ donations, etc. There are documents that we can help you prepare that outline exactly what procedures you do and do not want. It is good to have something like this because it is document with a list of specific instructions that medical facilities and providers will follow. It also allows those individuals we discussed earlier to make decisions on your behalf. Once again, it is important to choose those people wisely.
Fourth, you need to sit down and think about the parts of your estate that you may or may not want to leave to certain people. These items usually are furniture, property like jewelry, houses or land, etc. Certain items, like land for example, may be used to value your estate for purposes of nursing home care. If you own a lot of property and have a sizable estate, it maybe wise to start planning the allocation of those items earlier so that the value of your estate does not create a situation where you are valued at a level which requires substantial out of pocket costs for nursing home care. Call me to discuss those nuances.
Finally, it's important to have a good lawyer to help you navigate these issues. Call me today to discuss these steps. It may be an unpleasant thing to think about but the alternative is much worse. I look forward to speaking with you about these issues and hopefully helping you with your estate planning needs.