When you’re making preparations that will ensure your loved ones are taken care of after you’re gone, you need to ensure that your estate is taken care of. Having an estate planning checklist will help make known your wishes.
If you don’t know exactly what goes into estate planning, that’s perfectly fine because you’re about to find out everything that you need to know below.
Have A List of Assets
When you sit down to write down the plans for your estate, you must have a list of everything you own. This will make it easier when it’s time to decide which of your children gets what.
Things that you need to make a note of are not limited to, but include:
- Land
- Properties you own
- Savings account
- Insurance policies including life insurance
- Stocks
- Owned businesses
There are more things that you can include in your list of assets the items listed above are just a few. Having a list of everything will ensure that you don’t leave anything out when writing your estate plans.
Make Sure Everyone’s Taken Care Of
Now that you know everything that you’ve got, it’s crucial to make sure that your assets are taken care of. Ensuring that your stuff is protected will ensure that your children won’t have issues accessing it after you’re gone.
The best way to ensure everything is protected is to detail every wish that you have. This will reduce the likelihood of your wishes being misinterpreted and your children not getting the things that you want them to have.
Set Up Directives
The reason for directives is to make sure that everything you’ve written will happen. This includes any wishes that you have about medical care or the managing of your finances.
If you suspect that there will be issues after you’ve gone enlisting the help of a directive will give you peace of mind that everything you want will be done the way that you want them to be. One directive you’ll consider is a medical directive, which is also a living will.
The job of a medical care directive is that should you not be of sound mind to make decisions on your own; they will carry out your wishes. You may even consider placing your assets into a trust.
This is a secure way of knowing that your children will get the things you’ve designated.
Go Over Beneficiaries
Reviewing your beneficiaries is suggested. If you’d like to designate a portion of your retirement fund to your children, it may prove challenging if you’ve listed a beneficiary to have the funds after you’ve gone. This is crucial because if you’re separated from your spouse and don’t want them to access the assets, you would need to ensure they aren’t the beneficiary on your accounts.
Creating Your Estate Planning Checklist
When creating your estate planning checklist, the things mentioned above are just a portion of what needs to be featured in your planning. But, they are major things when you’re looking to take care of your children.
If you’re about to go through a divorce and need the help of a lawyer, contact us today. We also recommend scrolling through some of the other articles that are featured in our blog section.
