At its most basic form, estate planning is deciding who gets your assets when you die. However, your estate plan can have many more aspects, including taxes and considering your family’s needs.
Here is how to get started creating an estate plan.
Take inventory
If you are in a majority income bracket, you likely do not think you have enough items to write an estate plan. However, looking around will show you that you have plenty of tangible assets, such as your house, intangible assets, such as your savings account, and could qualify for plenty of benefits, such as the Pennsylvania Estate Recovery Program.
Think about your family’s needs
Think about your family’s needs and what you need to do to ensure you care for them if you die. For instance, you should:
- Purchase enough life insurance
- Decide who gets custody of your children
- Document your care directives for your children and pets
Establish legal directives
To make your estate plan complete, establish your legal directives. It would be best if you thought about whether trusts are a good idea for you. You should also set your living will so your family knows your medical wishes should you become incapable of making decisions.
It would be best to assign someone to control your finances if you cannot manage your accounts. Likewise, you should establish your power of attorney to handle other affairs if you cannot do so. Just be careful to who you assign your power of attorney because they can control your finances and life.
Drafting an estate plan is going to be challenging. However, you will rest assured knowing you will have avoided the critical mistake of not having any estate plan.