Do you have the peace of mind knowing that should anything bad happen to you right now, your kids are going to be taken care of as well as all of your assets and your business?
You have to make sure you’ve got things in order because, at the end of the day, you’ve got to protect the people you love.
Here are a few things to consider when it comes to estate planning:
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Living Documents
Your living documents only work while you’re breathing and alive. This is tough stuff for people to talk about. But it’s because you love them enough that you have to have this uncomfortable conversation with them.
1.1 Health Care Directive
A health care directive is a type of living document where you appoint someone to make your medical decisions for you in the event that you can’t speak for yourself. They’re going to make a decision as to where you receive care, who your doctors are, type of care when you go home (or when you don’t), and all the stuff that you would have done yourself if you could speak for yourself and if you were of sound mind.
1.2. Durable Power of Attorney
This appoints someone to make your financial decisions, take care of your insurance, pay your bills, and take care of all your finances while you are incapacitated. The agent who has the power of attorney will act on your behalf and take care of all your financial matters for you.
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Your Last Will and Testament
You will appoint a person, a personal representative, or an executor of your will, to carry out your final wishes for your assets, your family, and your final decisions about your life.
They create an inventory of all the stuff that you owned. You can include a testamentary trust in your will if you’ve got children under the age of 18 so you can set the age that you believe is appropriate for them to manage your assets. A trustee will then be appointed so they can manage the assets for your kids until they’re of age to manage on their own.
If you want to learn more about estate planning, check out https://marissanehlsen.com/llr012.
