It is certainly very difficult for anyone to think about how things might change once their overall health starts to decline or what will happen to their loved ones once they have passed away. Nonetheless, doing nothing to plan can, in some cases, have grave consequences, such as being incapable of taking care of one’s affair while he or she is still alive, or unwished-for anger and confusion between family members once the person has passed away. This is where estate planning comes in.
Estate planning denotes the process where an individual anticipates and arranges how he or she wishes their estate to be managed and disposed of during his or her life, in case he or she become incapacitated and in the event of his or her death. Individuals should certainly create an estate plan, especially while they are still in good health in order to prevent undesired consequences. On that premise, the following article presents the most important decisions to consider when creating an estate plan.
Health care wishes
While still in great health, an individual should unquestionably make his or her relatives aware of how they wish to be medically treated. This can be formally documented in order to avoid any form of confusion among family members. These documents include health care proxies, a living will, medical orders for life sustaining treatments, interment agreements and organ donations.
Choosing an executor
The role of an executor is to manage the distribution of assets, which could include homes, cars or non-retirement investments, just to mention a few. As long as there is an assigned estate attorney, an individual can choose anyone to be the executor and can him or her at any given moment as well.
Protecting financial interests
A lot of individuals prefer to not share their total worth with their heirs and keep this info close to the chest. There are some steps that help an individual protect his or her financial security and which include assigning a financial power of attorney, discussing the trust with the heirs as well as examining tax issues with beneficiaries.
Finalizing the will
Last, but not least, an individual should write a will that clearly explains how the assets will be distributed. The will can be discussed with the heirs, especially if they believe that they will receive a lot more than the individual intends to give them.