Estate Planning

• Set up smart ownership of your property, create an Estate Plan and get organized.
• A Will is simply the document that gives away your property when you die. P.S. Kids are not property so you can’t give them away, but you can name preferred guardians (thanks for the reminder Betsy!)
• Trusts – think of it like a legal umbrella. Pop it up when you are alive to take care of needs or keep it shut until you die and then have it pop up to have someone else control your property for your heirs, like minor children. There are many reasons to have a Trust, just like there are different times you carry an umbrella, so talk to a lawyer about your situation and let them guide you.

• While you are alive, you need these documents…seriously. These documents give instruction and permission to someone to help you when you need it most.
• Health Care POA – is valid as soon as it is signed and needed for when your medical team determines you are unable to make medical decisions for yourself.
• Financial POA – allows someone to manage your finances, property, and other legal interests on your behalf. It is not automatic for spouses and is perhaps the most important document to have for managing your care.

Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance policies override directives in your Will. So if you still have an old flame as your beneficiary, you might want to make that change sooner than later!

• If you become incapacitated someone still must make critical decisions which can cause a lot of extra work and strain of the people you leave behind, especially when it comes to minor children or dependent adults.
• The Guardianship Process is arduous – If guardianship needs to be designated it can require a court filing, service by the Sherriff and Guardian Ad Litem, notification of next of kin and a court hearing in which your incapacity is publicly set forth.
• That’s a lot of people that would be left out of your personal business had you only done your documents!!