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While making a comprehensive estate plan is necessary, it’s equally important to discuss those plans with your loved ones. There will be details in your plan that will affect one or more family members so it’s important to discuss those details with your family. This will help avoid confusion after your death and prepare your loved ones with the following details.
Choose a Guardian
Everyone should have a will because, without one, the court will determine important issues, such as the custody of your minor children. If you do have minor children, a will gives you the opportunity to choose a guardian for them. You can also create a trust that provides assets that will go to your children upon their eighteenth birthdays. In the meantime, those assets can also be used to provide financing for the upbringing of your children. When you choose a guardian for your children, be sure to ask them if they feel up to the task. You should discuss your wishes with them and make it clear how you expect their trusts to be used. This will ensure your final wishes will be carried out accurately.
Discuss Your Options With a Professional
A Los Angeles estate law firm can also help you create a living trust, which is a document that many people use to accompany their wills. Unlike a will, a trust is a private document that won’t go through the probate process. Instead, it will transfer assets directly to a spouse, child, or other trustee. If you do create a trust, the trustee named in the document should be made aware of your intentions to ensure they’re prepared for this eventuality. This will help them ensure assets aren’t mistakenly included in the probate inventory.
Make Sure Your Final Wishes Are Known
You can also leave a letter of instruction, which will be used to share your final wishes and any important information you wish to pass on. Many people use the letter of instruction to pass on their usernames and passwords for website and financial accounts. This is also where you can share your wishes that a specific loved one receives a particular asset, such as leaving an engagement ring to a daughter. Your wishes for your funeral and burial or cremation can also be shared in this letter. For this reason, it’s important to ensure your loved ones consult the letter prior to taking any actions.
Talk to Your Beneficiaries
There are certain things that your estate planning attorney won’t handle on your behalf. These details include the pension you receive from a former employer, your life insurance policies, and other death benefits that aren’t included in a trust or will. For these policies, you’ll choose beneficiaries to receive settlements after your death. Once you choose your beneficiaries for each policy, you should let those individuals know that they were named in the policies. This will ensure they know to file claims upon your death to receive those payouts. If you choose to change your beneficiaries at some point, be sure to let the new beneficiaries know that they have been designated in those policies. It’s also a good courtesy to let former beneficiaries know that their names have been removed from the policies.
Choose Your Powers of Attorney
A healthcare proxy and a financial power of attorney hold a great deal of responsibility in the event that you become unable to communicate your wishes. A healthcare proxy designates someone to make medical care decisions for you in the event that you become physically unable or mentally incapable of making your wishes known. Under similar circumstances, a financial power of attorney will collect your income, pay your bills, and manage your investments until you’re able and competent to resume those responsibilities. When choosing individuals to take on these roles, be sure to choose people you trust to make decisions that will go along with your wishes. Additionally, you should discuss these responsibilities with them in advance to be sure they’re willing to take on these roles.
Conclusion
Sharing your estate plans with your loved ones will help everyone prepare for the inevitable. It will also ensure you’re doing everything you can to reduce the types of conflict that occur after a loved one dies. By sharing the details recommended here, you can do your best to protect your family and keep them bonded when they will need each other most.
