Many people believe that, once they’ve completed a will, they’ve done their estate planning. And most of those people – or, unfortunately, their heirs – eventually find out they’ve only scraped the surface.
Here’s just a partial checklist…
- Do you have minor children? If so, do you even remember who you’ve designated as their guardian if anything happens to you? And, even if you do remember, is your designee the same person you’d name now? Also, If you have minor children, do you also have a trust to preserve their inheritance until they’re old enough to manage it themselves?
- Are the beneficiaries listed for your life insurance, annuities, IRAs, 401Ks, pensions, etc. the same ones you’d name now? If not, you’d better do something about it (before anything happens to you).
- Also, are the beneficiaries consistent with the plan you set up in you will? The will will not effect anything with a beneficiary or jointly held. The will directs only that property in your own name alone with no beneficiary, joint owner etc.
- Do you have a list of your online accounts, with usernames, passwords, and the answers to security questions? If not…what are you waiting for?
- Do you have a Durable Financial Power of Attorney, to avoid having a court appoint a guardian for your children?
- If any of your family members have special needs, have you prepared a trust to ensure those needs are met?
- If you own a business, does your estate plan include provisions for the succession or sale of the business?
- Do you need a Trust, which protects your assets from your beneficiaries’ creditors, failed marriages, etc.?
- Do you “get” all the ramifications of the laws regarding gifting, estate and other taxes?
- Have you prepared Advance Health Care Directives and Medical Powers of Attorney and a Living Will, to make your end-of-life wishes crystal-clear…and to avoid any disputes that could shatter your family forever?
- Have you prepared for the costs of long term care in retirement while you are healthy?
Have you taken care of all this? If not…what are you waiting for? Are you planning to live forever?
