Estate planning shares an important characteristic with fire drills and other emergency planning: the best time to deal with an emergency is when there is no emergency. This is why schools, institutions and many businesses conduct fire drills.
Simply put, estate planning involves making arrangements for your property to be disposed of in the event of your passing or disability. It can include a will, sometimes a trust; and advanced directives such as a health care proxy, living will and durable power of attorney.
The number one misconception about estate planning is that only the rich need it; the second one is that it is very expensive to plan your estate.
Regardless of whether you think your estate is large or small, what to do before the actual emergency can save us stress in many ways. Perhaps the best stress relief is knowing that we have a plan, even when we don’t know what the emergency itself is. We take care of the unknown by creating our own plan as best we can.
Estate Planning and Your Family
You can take to ensure that you take care of your family by providing a straightforward path for them to inherit your property, sometimes (but not always) without probate.
Similarly, you can take to help your family make decisions about your care when you are ill or disabled. This would include not only guidance as to medical decisions for you, but also taking care of your finances while you are ill or disabled.
For example, for an illness that incapacitates us in some way, we may need help from family to manage our healthcare. In this instance, we can use health care directives and a living will. For financial issues, we can have a durable power of attorney. Lastly, a testamentary will lets us decide what we want to do with our property once we are no longer here.
None of us likes to think about these things. And, frankly, with our busy lives, many of us do not think about these things. We usually give them a passing thought when we hear of family members dealing with these issues after a loved one has been ill or passed away.
When we have these documents in place, we also take care of our family. We give them direction, a path that allows them to avoid “what ifs” and other unsettling questions. This will be important for them during moments that are emotionally stressful for them too.
If you have none of these documents, or don’t know know which ones you need, but would like more information, but want more information, call me at 305-710-9419. You can also email me so we can discuss these issues.
