See What You Should First Do to Have Successful Estate Planning
Estate planning touches almost every aspect of your life, and that's why you shouldn't take it lightly. Actually, it's a comprehensive process because it requires you to make a will and also organise your medical plans properly. However, estate planning can be an emotional and complicated process, and that's why most people avoid it.
Even if it's somehow understandable, you can't underestimate the need to create a comprehensive estate plan. You don't plan your estate just to ensure your wishes are followed, but also to ensure your loved ones live a better life. So, see what you should first do to have a successful process.
Weigh Your Priorities
Estate planning involves a lot of things, but you shouldn't handle each of them the same way. Although everything is important during this process, others are more important. Your priorities determine how successful estate planning will be.
For instance, if you have a business, you should create a succession plan for it. If you own a lot of properties and wealth, you should preserve them well to ensure your descendants will live comfortably. As you can see, you may have to balance multiple priorities and goals to ensure you don't plan your estate poorly.
Make a Will or Update the Existing One
A will is actually not everything in estate planning, but it's among the critical elements you can't overlook. If you already have a will, check if it's still valid or if you should update it. An invalid will can be very dangerous because your assets won't escape probate.
During the probate process, state legislation influences how your estate and other assets will be distributed. This process isn't just time-consuming, but it also denies you the power to control how the assets will be distributed. When updating your will, ensure you think about your grandchildren, divorce and anything else that may change in the future.
Designate Trustworthy Individuals
Several roles are involved in estate planning, and each of them requires you to designate a person you can trust. For instance, you need to carefully select a trustee, executor and also someone to give power of attorney to. You should be keen on who you give power of attorney to because they actually handle personal and sensitive matters. They have access to your personal emails, and they also file your tax returns.
The executor handles the entire estate and also makes sure that the assets are transferred to the beneficiaries based on the wishes contained in the will. If you have some minors, you should designate a trustee to care for them.
Anyone with their loved ones in mind takes estate planning seriously. They do everything possible to ensure their estate and other assets will be distributed correctly. If you are already in the estate planning process, don't skip any of the three steps above.
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