Do you have a proper Estate Plan for your family?
WRITTEN BY: Gideon Drucker, CFP® AIF® ECA
An area of our Financial Life Plan® process that I want to touch upon is how we incorporate proper estate planning into your overall financial plan. So let’s dive in.
Estate planning, to put it plainly, is the process of ensuring that your financial affairs are managed and taken care of in the way that YOU want upon your demise (or mental incapacity).
A proper estate plan will ensure that your family is taken care of, your children are looked after, while maximizing the assets your chosen beneficiaries (family, charity, friends etc.) receive and limiting, to the greatest extent possible, the assets that the government receives via tax.
Here’s how we go about getting this done:
As part of our financial planning process, once we’ve all agreed to get started…our team will get to work gathering all of the relevant documents we need to complete our analysis (investment statements, tax returns, pay stub, 401k statement etc.)
Naturally, we do the same in asking for your estate planning documents & insurance policies (if you have them.) Once we get to the delivery phase of the process, we we walk you through an educational estate planning program…with the goal of helping you understand what estate planning work still needs to be completed relative to what you’ve already taken care of already.
Next, we will help you understand what decisions you and your family must start thinking about such as,
- Naming the relevant parties to serve specific roles... who do you want to serve as beneficiaries, fiduciaries, executors of trusts, & guardians for your kids if you were to pass etc.
- Specifying what healthcare decisions you will need to make... healthcare proxy, a living will, & health directives.
Once we have an understanding of your financial goals, assets, liabilities, income trajectory etc., we will begin analyzing your insurance/protection needs & provide specific life/disability/long term care insurance recommendations.
These recommendations may take the form of,
- Getting additional insurance coverage,
- Changing the type of coverage,
- Lowering your amount of insurance if it’s not cost-effective/appropriate,
- Changing beneficiaries etc..
Finally, after we’ve done this initial/prep work, we will reach out to an estate attorney to actually draft the relevant documents (or reach out to your estate attorney if you are already working with/know someone in particular).
Our process & planning structure is likely to save you both time and money when it comes to putting together your estate plan because most of the prep work has already been done by the time you reach the attorney: you are simply hiring them to put your plan into action.
As always, please be encouraged to reach out and schedule your 15 minute Right Fit Call if you have any questions about creating your own Financial Life Plan®.
