It is crucial to have thorough estate planning, but how should you do it? This guide lists the top 10 estate planning tips everyone needs to know.
When you’re getting older, you begin to think of how your estate and other assets will be split after you’ve passed. That may lead you to start your estate planning, but it may not be as easy as it sounds.
If you’ve been looking for a guide that will walk you through estate planning, then you’ve come to the right place. Below you’re going to find all of the estate planning tips that you’ve been looking for.
Continue reading for everything that you need to know.
- Get Insured
When you think of leaving your loved ones behind, the last thing that you want to leave them with is a massive funeral bill. One way that you can ensure that all expenses are taken care of is to have a life insurance policy.
Not only will the policy cover any funeral expenses, but it will also cover the rest of any existing medical or household bills that you may have after you’ve passed. The life insurance policy will provide your family members with the funds necessary to take care of any and all expenses without having to shoulder all of the burden themselves.
- Draft Your Will
When you’ve got assets meaning homes, cars, stock, bonds, or other assets, you’re going to want to draft a document that explains what needs to happen with your assets. In your will, you will detail who will get what in your family.
Another detail that you’re going to want to detail in your will is who will gain guardianship of your children if they are still under the age of 18. You’ll want to detail this in your will because you don’t want your children to be split by the court systems.
When it’s in writing, it must be followed to the letter.
- Hire a Solid Legal Team
Your legal team will ensure that all of your dying wishes are followed. Your legal team will also help you through the process of your estate planning and help you when it comes to making the best decisions possible.
It can be challenging to plan for your estate, and a legal representative can help you do this without having any emotions involved. They will be thinking logically about your wants and help you to continue moving forward in the right direction.
Another benefit of hiring a legal team during this time is ensuring all of your documents are secure. Things can get messy when you’re deciding who will get what after you pass, and having all documents in one place will give you peace of mind.
It’s also helpful when you’ve passed in that your loved ones won’t have to go on an extensive hunt to find your will and estate planning documents to find out what you want them to do with everything that you’ve left behind.
- Decide if You Want a Living Trust
When people hear the words living trust, they compare it to that of a will, and while it’s similar, it’s not the same. A living will is a will that begins while you’re still alive, and in it, you will detail things like medical wishes.
For example, if you’ve got a disease and will no longer be able to take care of yourself in the living trust, you will designate someone who will begin to speak and act on your behalf. The other benefit of having a living will is that it can be changed or updated at any point in time.
The person you choose to speak for should be someone who will make the medical decisions that you want and be someone you trust completely.
- Decide Who Will Get What
Now comes the hard part in this entire planning process, and that’s deciding who will get what. You’ll gather a list of all of your assets first. We recommend starting your list early if you forget about something and need to make a few tweaks to your documents later on.
Assets will also include rare art collections and prized cars. If you’re not sure what to do with them, read more here and continue with your decisions.
After you’ve gathered a complete list of all of your assets, you’ll want to make a list of everyone you’d like to gift with items. After you’ve completed that list, you can begin deciding who will get what according to your wants.
- Choose Your Beneficiaries
When you were in your career, you were asked to provide a beneficiary for your accounts if something happened to you. When you’re making your estate plans, you need to go back and check who you listed as beneficiaries on your financial accounts and make changes.
The reason you want to do this is that if you’ve been married and listed your spouse as the beneficiary but got a divorce, it’s assumed that you don’t want your financial assets to go to them anymore. Therefore, it’s recommended that you list your beneficiaries and change them if necessary.
Estate Planning Tips Guide: Everything You Need to Know
When it comes to the estate planning tips listed above, following them will help you take care of your family before you’ve left them. It may be challenging to think about, but in the end, you’re doing what’s best for your family.
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