Perks and Planning
Owning your home offers several perks. Equity building and the ability to make your home your own by adding personal touches, and privacy from neighbors name a few. What a lot of homeowners forget to think about or plan is what will happen to their homes and belongings after they pass away. Having legal directives in place before you pass away or become unable to do it on your own will make it easier for loved ones to take care of your estate when that time comes.
Estate Planning
“Estate planning is the process of taking inventory of your wealth while assessing your family’s needs and assigning how your financial and personal matters will be dealt with when you are gone or incapacitated.” Rita Mkrtchyan- Oak View Law Group in Burbank, CA shares. This type of planning is more than just drafting a will. It can include naming guardians, creating trust, and organizing other financial matters with the help of an attorney. Having these arrangements in place takes a huge burden off of loved ones when they are trying to process your death or incapacitation and work through those matters. Having your affairs in order is one less thing for them to worry about. If there is no plan in order, many important decisions will be left up to the courts.
How to Start and Who to Contact
Professionals like attorneys, lawyers, trusted bankers, life advisors, and accountants are people who can help you get your affairs in order.
The first step is to have all of your information concerning your assets and income in one place as far as your family dynamics. These things will help the professional you are working with determining how to structure the plan.
After this information is gathered, your advisor will write up a document and go over it with you. If you are satisfied with how everything is written and planned out, depending on your state and what their rules are for signing estate documents, there will typically be two witnesses and a notary public involved. As with anything of this nature and importance, these documents should be stored in a safe place.
The Future Of Your Family
With the estate plan in place, when the time comes, your family will have everything they need to manage your valued and hard-earned possessions immediately. This planning is not only for parents to have in place for their children. It is something that married couples with rights of survivorship should have set as well, otherwise, the home and assets will need to go through the probate process.
Don’t wait too long. Think about how this important planning can help your loved ones in the future.
For guidance on who to contact for estate planning, reach out to your trusted banker or call us and we can offer direction.
360.553.0715