Do I need a Will, or more than that for my estate?
Planning Your Will and Estate Financially Protects Your Family
No one likes thinking about emergencies and unfortunate events.
Yet it’s better to give your loved ones a chance to be financially prepared, as well as give them peace of mind amid their grief.
You don’t have to be wealthy to create a will or estate plan to benefit your family.
As long as you accurately access your net worth and valuables to be distributed to your loved ones, you can rest assured that they will be taken care of when you pass on.
You’ve probably heard the terms “will planning” and “estate planning” used interchangeably, but they are different elements that dictate how your assets are handled and/or dispersed among your family.
So, what’s the difference between will and estate planning? How do you choose which will work best for your financial and family needs?
In this blog article, we’ll explore the main distinctions of will and estate planning to create the best plan for your loved ones.
How to initially Prepare a Will and Estate Plan
● Determine which plan you need
● Learn your financial and family needs
● Seek professional help with a Financial Planner, or Attorney if necessary
Do You Need a Will or Estate Plan?
When you calculate your net worth and take inventory of all of your valuables, you can determine which plan is suitable for your financial circumstances.
Will and testament planning can be a fairly simple plan of action that outlines your chosen beneficiaries and instructs them on how to handle your last wishes. If you don’t have as many requests or assets to leave behind for your loved ones, writing a will and final testament would work best for you. Your will names an executor you trust to manage your belongings. It will also help with the speed of processing the estate through Probate - and could mean significant reductions in fees avoiding Probate courts! It also may include Powers of Attorney, Medical and Financial, which we will discuss in a future blog post.
Estate planning includes a will and final testament, but adds on extra documents and instructions on how to manage your assets - it could even include your business succession plans, if you have one, and how you envisage those changes for your family remaining. If you have young children, or if you don’t have responsible individuals to name as financial power of attorney, estate planning helps secure and manage your assets upon your death.
What Does Your Family Need From Your Will and Estate Plan?
Whether you have a spouse, children from a blended family, pets or properties, you want to guarantee that they are all in good hands.
What parts of your will and estate plan could be most lucrative for them? What assets would protect them most?
Some elements to consider as you plan are:
● Updating your beneficiaries each year. We know that life can be unpredictable. Make sure you regularly update your documents to stay current.
● Ensuring that your life insurance lasts. Depending on your family’s needs, it’s important that your policy pays out enough to keep them out of financial burden.
● Creating documents that name guardians and childcare directions. If you have young children or pets, explicitly naming guardians (and even back-up guardians) that you trust, as well as how to provide for them, makes the transition easier for your loved ones.
● Creating documents formalizing your business succession plan. If you have a business, it is important you know, and your clients know, what will happen in event of death of the owner; who will take over, how your family will be compensated and so forth.
Do You Need a Financial Planner/Estate Attorney?
Depending on your financial and family needs, your will and estate plan may not need one.
But if you have any concerns about how to organize your plan, or if you own a large estate or business, working with a trusted Financial Planner and estate attorney can make the process easier.
Hiring a Financial Planner to handle your finances helps your family benefit from your will and estate plan in a fair and timely manner.
You can appoint your Financial Planner to be the executor of your will or financial power of attorney. They can then guide you and your family through the process of financial preparations and transactions, like investments, insurance and business decisions.