Holiday conversation that you should be having with your family this season: Find out if your family members have estate plans! Why?
Because it will keep your family out of probate court, save you thousands of dollars.
What items are included in your plan? A proper estate plan should include a will, revocable trust, power of attorney, power of health care, and funding of the trust.
If you don’t have all of the above or you do not have plan at all, you need to sit down and speak to our qualified estate planning team so you can amend and correct your current plan or establish a new plan.
Another important question that is often overlooked: Where are your original documents stored. We always recommend a safety deposit box where you can list multiple people.
You could also leave documents in a safe, in your home, but it is important to make sure multiple family members can access these documents. More important than having the documents prepared, is having your family have access to them, because if they cannot access them, your efforts in preparing a will or plan would be wasted.
If you don’t have a plan prepared, some of the important things you should discuss include:
1) Identify who should take care of your children, in the event that something happens to you. You will need to make sure that the person you choose is aware of this responsibility, and accepts this role.
2) In addition to identifying who will be your child’s caretaker, you will need to share with your family where your assets are located and or stored, and how you want them distributed.