An estate plan does encompass what you intend to happen to your belongings after you pass away, but this often leaves out the important consideration of what you intend to happen while you’re still alive. The best and most comprehensive estate plans consider what you want to do while you’re still here and the legacy that you intend to leave behind for your loved ones.
A good estate plan goes beyond deciding who will get how much after you pass away. Think carefully about your aspirations before you pass away and what you hope to achieve later in life to inform these decisions. Your estate plan should incorporate your own goals for passing on assets to future generations as well as how to protect yourself if you were to become incapacitated or disabled.
There are key questions you can ask yourself to figure out what else must be included in your estate plan, such as:
Do we have enough funds set aside to support ourselves in retirement, pass on assets to beneficiaries and create a family foundation?
Should we establish scholarships on our own or at our alma mater?
What do we intend to contribute to our grandchildren’s education?
Passing along valuables is one piece of the puzzle but it doesn’t fully encompass everything you have worked so hard to establish over the course of your life. Scheduling a consultation with an estate planning attorney is the first step in getting these questions answered and getting you to think about all aspects of your estate plan.
Thinking about what will happen while you are still alive is also important because a disabling event could leave you incapacitated and unable to make decisions on your own. An estate plan that only includes a last will doesn’t address these issues or enable another person to step in and make decisions on your behalf if something were to happen to you. Use tools like a power of attorney to verify that you have another person to step in and make decisions if you were unable to do so.
Talk to an estate planning attorney who has a strong track record of developing comprehensive estate plans for their clients.
