7 People You Need on Your Estate Planning Team
By: Solid Serenity Legal Solutions
Estate planning is a necessary part of all of our life plans. Leaving a solid, well-thought out plan is one of the best gifts you can give to the people you love.
But, being your family’s planning hero isn’t a go-it-alone task. It’s a team effort. To put the right plan in place for your family, here are the 7 people you need on your estate planning team.
(1) Your Estate Planning Attorney
An estate planning attorney has the necessary expertise to properly arrange your incapacity plan and put the appropriate tools in your toolbox to meet your short and long-term estate planning goals.
Henry Ford is often attributed as having once said “if I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
The reality is, you don’t know what you don’t know. You know what your goals and wishes are for yourself and your family, but an estate planning attorney’s job is to help you find the right tools to meet your goals.
Let us help you know what the options are and what tools you need to meet your family’s goals. You can even book online at your convenience.
(2) Your Financial Advisor
Your financial advisor helps you put a financial plan into place that meets your life and retirement goals. Some of the advisors we work with can even help you plan your budget.
If you want help with a referral, give us a call.
(3) Your Insurance Agent
Our financial foundation is built on protecting our incomes and assets if something bad happens. The right insurance agent won’t only help you with car and auto insurance to protect your most expensive assets, they can help you with health, disability, and life insurance to protect your income and your family if you can’t.
We know some of those too! Give us a call for a referral.
(4) Your Accountant
Taxes are complicated. Having a professional in your corner to find all the deductions and tax breaks you can get is more than worth the costs you pay the professional to work for you. We highly recommend having a great accountant or tax attorney on your team.
(5) Your Personal Representative/Trustee/Agents
When making your estate plan, you will name someone who takes over managing your assets when you are unable to, or when you die. You can name more than one person for each of these roles. But, you need to make sure you trust the people you have named.
A good estate planning attorney can help walk you through choosing the proper agents for your plan.
(6) Your Guardians of Your Children
If you’re a parent of a child under the age of 18, or an adult child with Special Needs, you need to choose a Guardian you trust to care for your children if you can’t.
You can have a separate Guardian for the financial management and the personal care of your children if you so choose. You can also expressly name people you do not want to be Guardians of your children.
Protecting your children by planning for their care when something happens to you is the most important aspect of estate planning.
(7) Your Beneficiaries
Your beneficiaries are the people you want to get your things when you die. Often, people want to distribute their things evenly to the people they love after their death. But, if you don’t have a Will or Trust in place, there is no guarantee the people you want to get your things will get what you want them to.
Also, there are certain situations where it may not be the best idea to give your loved ones assets outright. The heirs might be under the age of 18, receive government benefits based on income, or have high debt or substance abuse problems. In these situations, there are certain strategies and tools we can use to protect your heirs and their assets.
For more information on your specific situation, book an appointment online today.