Summary: In estate planning, as with many things in life, the “devil is in the details.” The difference between success and failure may be the seemingly tiniest of specifics. Once you’ve decided to take control of your legacy and create a plan, don’t let the little things trip that plan up. Make sure that your planning covers all the details great and small in order to set your plan and your family up for success.
Renowned author Kurt Vonnegut was quoted
as saying, “Enjoy the little things in life because one day you`ll look back
and realize they were the big things.” That is good advice when it comes to
enjoying life. Something similar is true with regard to estate planning. Make
sure to pay attention to the little things in your estate plan, because you may
find out later that they were the big things in ensuring your plan’s success.
To help you as you contemplate planning
your estate, here is a list of a few “little” things in estate planning that
can have big impacts on the success or failure of your plan.
- Getting all of the documents you
need. Lots of
people understand the importance of getting an estate plan (even if
they’ve procrastinated doing so.) However, some may think that getting an
estate plan means just getting a will. While having only a will is often
better than having nothing at all, very few, if any, estate plans would be
truly “complete” with just a will. Your estate plan likely should include
your will, your financial power of attorney, your healthcare power of
attorney and your living will (if that is a separate document from a
healthcare power of attorney in your state.) Many estate plans will be
enhanced by the inclusion of one or more trusts, including a living trust.
In some states, you can also create a legal document that spells out your
desires for your funeral and/or other final arrangements planning. Each of
these may help you accomplish all of your goals in a way that just a will
cannot.
- Naming the proper number of agents
and/or beneficiaries. Whether
it is a will, a living trust, a power of attorney, a living will or a
death beneficiary designation, there are ways to make sure that your plans
will not fall victim to unexpected events. Life can be unpredictable and,
sometimes, younger, healthier people die early and suddenly. An estate
planning document with too few people named in it can have dire
consequences. A death beneficiary designation with no eligible, surviving
beneficiary could cause that asset to go into your probate estate and
defeat whatever plans you may have had to avoid probate. A power of
attorney with no surviving, eligible agents named in it may trigger the
need for an expensive, time-consuming and stressful court proceeding to
appoint a guardian or conservator. These and other major pitfalls can
easily be avoided simply by naming multiple alternates to serve as an
agent or a beneficiary in case you #1 preferred person dies or otherwise
cannot fulfill that role.
- Not executing your plan properly. Many states have very specific
laws regarding how an estate planning document must be signed in order to
be considered valid and enforceable. Maybe you need one witness, two
witnesses, a notary, a notary and witnesses or neither witnesses nor a
notary. Regardless of what your state says you need to create a valid,
legal document, you don’t want to go to the effort of creating a plan only
to have it fail because of a technical error related to execution. Your
experienced estate planning attorney can help you make sure that the documents
you sign are executed in a way that makes them enforceable under the law.
This article is published by the Legacy Assurance Plan and is intended for general informational purposes only. Some information may not apply to your situation. It does not, nor is it intended, to constitute legal advice. You should consult with an attorney regarding any specific questions about probate, living probate or other estate planning matters. Legacy Assurance Plan is an estate planning services-company and is not a lawyer or law firm and is not engaged in the practice of law. For more information about this and other estate planning matters visit our website at www.legacyassuranceplan.com.
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