Estate planning is a difficult topic, but it's one of the most necessary parts of any good financial plan. At Evans Wealth Planning, we want to make sure that you're on the right track for every stage of life, even the not-so-fun stages.
Before starting your estate plan, we need to do some housekeeping.
Step One: Inventory
You want to take inventory of everything you own, investment accounts, houses, vehicles, anything of value that you think should be included, put it on this list. You want to make sure nothing is forgotten when it's time to start distributing your estate.
Step Two: People
Next, you're going to go through the people in your life. Who will be beneficiaries, who will be decision-makers? You want to make this list and keep it updated regularly. Knowing where your things will go after you pass is a big part of the estate planning puzzle.
Step Three: Your Plan
Estate plan is just a fancy way of saying "a bunch of legal documents" but those legal documents are very important. Your healthcare wishes, what you want to happen to your assets, who you want to make financial decisions for you if you cannot. Here's a list of some of the documents you will need:
- Financial Power of Attorney
- Advance Health Care Directive
- Trust
- Will
Step Four: Secure
Once you have the estate plan, you need somewhere to store it. Keep multiple copies, and let someone know where to find them in case they need them. A safe bet is to keep physical copies in a safe or fireproof box, usually with your passport, tax forms, healthcare records or things like that. Should something happen, your people need to be able to find and access these documents. Don't put your documents in a safe that only you know the combination to.
Step Five: Sleep easy
Once you have created your documents, you know everything is accounted for, and your loved ones are taken care of, you can rest easy knowing you have done your part. However, your estate plan will grow and change with your life. Keep track of what is going on in your life and make updates as they're needed.