Summer vacation is just about here, so that means summer travel plans are coming up. What does that mean for your estate planning? It might be difficult to think about, but before you take off on that summer vacation it’s important to make sure your estate plans are in tact and are ready to do their job should something happen while you’re away.
The first thing you should do is to ensure that all of your accounts have the up to date beneficiary information. Often times we open a bank account, or set up our 401k’s and forget about them. When this happens we could unintentionally leave someone money or leave someone out.
Before you take off you should also meet with an experienced estate planning attorney and create a last will and testament. This is important to be sure that your wishes are carried out, and also important for your family members. They will have enough to do without having to go through the time and expense of sitting through probate court. Even more important is that if you have small children, don’t you want to be the one that decides who should raise them in your absence rather than a judge who doesn’t know either them or you?
Part of your will includes a guardian for your child, so it is important that you name a guardian. This should be someone that you trust, as well as someone that your child knows and trusts. It’s important to know that there is paperwork your estate planning attorney can help you with to set up guardianship papers even without setting up a will if that’s what you want to do.
Create an advanced directive because not all accidents end up in death. Should you be injured to the point where you’re unable to make decisions for yourself. This allows you to choose someone you trust to make important decisions for yourself during this time.
Along with an advanced directive, it’s important to make a durable power of attorney. This allows for financial decisions to be made in the case you should become incapacitated.
Contact Wood, Seitl, and Anderson today to set up a consultation for your estate plan.
