4 Important Things To Consider During The Estate Planning Process

Since life is not guaranteed, the estate planning process should be addressed early in adulthood and revised as you see fit. If you have not yet tackled this difficult task, there is no better time than now for planning your final wishes. While planning your estate, you will have to handle the four following topics to create a list of your final wishes.

Living Will

A living will details all of your end of life wishes in case you cannot communicate with your caregivers when a problem arises.  This document is usually only utilized if you are facing a dire life or death medication situation. Your doctors will review the document to see which treatments to use or avoid if you fall into a coma or experience another catastrophic condition. 

Power Of Attorney

A power of attorney designation gives a specific person the ability to handle your financial and medical decisions if you are incapacitated. You will need to assign this task to someone you trust with your life and assets. Make sure the individual you select knows how you would handle a variety of situations to prepare them for this tough job.  

Guardianship

If you have children, you will need to determine who would take over their care if anything were to happen to you. If your children already have godparents, you can guarantee they would take over care by documenting they will become the legal guardians in your absence. Otherwise, you will need to talk to your friends and family to see who would be willing and able to fulfill this role before completing this portion of the estate planning process.

Asset Distribution

Determining how your assets will be distributed wraps up the estate planning procedure. You must consider how to distribute the funds from your bank accounts, stocks, bonds and liquidated property. You may turn over ownership of your home, vehicles and other belongings without liquidating them first, if you wish. You will also need to consider your debts, as your creditors must have your accounts rectified before the rest of the estate is distributed as instructed.

Starting The Planning Phase

To ensure your will and other last requests abide by local laws and regulations, you should work with a lawyer to plan your estate. Your lawyer will lead you through the planning process to verify that you did not miss any vital steps. You can return to your lawyer anytime your situation or wishes change to make adjustments to these binding documents.