Discussing an estate plan is never any easy subject to approach. Inheritances can be a sensitive issue. You can dispel any possible conflicts after you’re gone by informing heirs of your intentions through an Estate Planning Attorney. Knowing the three key issues to estate planning can make the process much easier.
The first key is to know what you have and understand its worth. Real estate property or properties are always important. If that is left up in the air, it could end belonging to the State instead of your hard work and planning bearing fruit for your dependants. Include retirement funds, investments, and any insurance policies you may have. Absolutely anything that you have that could be considered valuable.
It is the best place to name a care taker for your children in the event of an untimely death. You want to be very selective with this. Think about priorities and values of the person or people you are choosing. You also would want to pick someone with whom your children already have some type of relationship. Unfortunately, you have to understand that your passing will be very painful for them and going with someone that they barely know will only add to the shock they are dealing with.
Another key is to create a health proxy. Also known as a living will. Include special instructions on whether or not you want to continue medical treatment with regards to life support, nutritional needs or pain relief. State your final arrangements; the details of any ceremonies you would like. You can also state who you would want assisted living or not.
Over all, it is best to hire an Estate Planning Attorney to allocate what will go where and who is entitled to what. This ensures that the fighting will be minimum, as you can not predict what members of your family will challenge your will in any way. Death is something that we can not control. However, we do have a choice of being prepared and easing the grief our loved ones. For more information please see Thompson and Deveny Co. LPA.
