Death. Planning for death. What will happen after a death. These are not generally topics of conversation people gravitated towards. It can feel dark. It can bring up difficult feelings. It can also be critical to protecting a future you want for your loved ones and your legacy. In talking about and planning for death or incapacitation, you may find that the other side of these conversations bring peace and comfort knowing that you and your loved ones are on the same page and understand your plans and goals for the future. Here are some of the key estate planning conversations you should be having.
You Should Be Having These Estate Planning Conversations
As far as planning your estate, you will need to consider who you want to inherit your assets. This can be a delicate subject to broach with your loved ones as everyone may feel that an inheritance will reflect how much they meant to you. There may also be some sense of entitlement you will need to contend with. At the end of the day, however, this is your estate plan. You need to decide who will get what. It may be uncomfortable, but having conversations with your loved ones about how you plan to have your estate distributed can avoid some really big problems further down the road. Take the opportunity to explain your motivations behind inheritances. You may just save some family relationships from disintegrating after you are gone. You may also be preventing a will contest after you pass.
There are also a number of aging and incapacity conversations you should be having in regard to your estate planning decisions. As we age, many of us will need long term care. This can be expensive. It can also be stressful for you and your family members to confront without a plan in place. This means that you should all discuss the plan and put one in place. For instance, are you planning to apply for Medicaid for long term care help. There are strict financial eligibility rules in place for Medicaid, so the sooner you start talking about your plan for overing the cost of long-term care, the better.
You will also want to talk to your loved ones about who you want to make decisions for you and manage your affairs should you become incapacitated. This is another area where people may feel personally slighted should you not select them for such roles of responsibilities. Again, explaining your reasoning and confronting this conversation head on can actually end up sparing a lot of tough feelings when more difficult times arise, should they ever. Once you have made your decisions, make sure they are memorialized in the proper legal tools, such as a powers of attorney and health care surrogate.
Estate Planning Attorneys
Having these difficult, but necessary conversations can end up being extremely productive and go a long way to avoiding some big disagreements and legal actions down the road. For a comprehensive estate plan you can count on, talk to the team at Jones, Gregg, Creehan & Gerace. Contact us today.