By Susan M. Graham, Certified Elder Law Attorney, Senior Edge Legal, Boise, Idaho
Do you have a written plan to cover what happens to your family and property after your death?
Less than fifty percent (50%) of those over age fifty-five (55) have a “Last Will and Testament”. Really? We all know everyone will die. There are no exceptions. So why not create a roadmap for how you want to take care of you, those you care about, your assets, and have a responsible person in charge?
An elder law / estate planning attorney is a good start. When you have that first meeting before you get into the legal details of taxes, powers of attorney, asset protection, guardians and other complexities, talk about your worries.
Some issues to share with your attorney at the first meeting may include:
- What are you most afraid of?
- If you are married and you die first, what are you most worried about?
- If you are married and your spouse dies first, what are you most worried about?
- How will you pay for long term residential care?
- How can you protect your family, spouse, children if you are not there?
- What can be done to maintain harmony in the family?
- Will you run out of money?
- [add your own concerns]
Understanding your needs is a great first step to help the attorney focus on legal solutions and related documents that focus on YOU and your individual situation.
It is important to have a formal, written estate plan in place to meet your goals the day it is needed, should you be incompetent and unable to care for yourself or you die.
If you are in the fifty percent plus (50+%) that has no written plan, what are you waiting for? Will you sign the papers a week before you die? Do you know that date, so you don’t miss it? If there are no planning documents, or if the ones you have do not reflect your wishes, it is too late. If that is the case, the State of Idaho laws will mandate what happens to you, your family and your assets. You can do better than that.
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Don’t Procrastinate! Call for an appointment (208-344-0375) to begin an estate plan to meet your goals. This FREE 30-minute consultation [a $225 value] is available if we are the right law firm to help you.
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“Beyond Retirement” Learning Series has gone LIVE! Free webinar – Episode 27 – “If You Can’t Take it With You…Shouldn’t You Have Control of Where it is Going?” will be LIVE on Wednesday, October 19 at 2:00 p.m. (Mountain Time)
To register, go to senioredgelegal.com/beyond.
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