Estate planning might not be the highest thing on your to-do list, but it should be pretty high on your priority. Your family needs you because in the event of your death, they are the ones that are affected in every way. So be sure your family is protected with these four estate planning tips.
Don’t wait until something happens to start your estate planning. Begin establishing your planning while you’re healthy. The documents you need as part of your estate plan require that you be of sound mind. So if you were to wait until you were ill, or in an accident, or to do it in a hurry in duress, then it is already too late. Even though you might not want to think about starting one, it’s better than the alternative and leaving your family with too many burdens.
One of the main reasons you set up estate plans is to avoid probate. Part of this process is setting up the right types of accounts so your loved ones don’t have any delay in taking over your assets. This means setting up TOD accounts, or transfer on death. These can include investment accounts, retirement accounts, and life insurance policies. By having beneficiaries, probate can totally be avoided.
Hiring an experienced estate planning attorney will be the most effective way to set up your estate plan. You don’t want any errors in your documents. Your attorney will sit down with you and discuss your goals and help you to figure out what is important to you and your family. Lastly, they’ll execute the paperwork correctly. This isn’t something you want to do by yourself, online.
It’s important to review your estate plan at least once a year. Circumstances change, people get married, divorced, have children. Jobs can change, anything can happen, so be sure your plan is up to date.
The best way to begin planning is to sit down with a knowledgeable estate planning attorney here at Wood Seitl, and Anderson. Contact us to make an appointment today.
