Planning For Your Future Through Estate Planning Installment 1

There are so many excuses that people can come up with to avoid planning for their future.  None of us ever feel that we are going to die anytime soon so we put off planning for it. We pretend we are too busy to avoid thinking about a future that doesn’t include us in it.  However, the truth of our death is inevitable.  We will all eventually pass away. The last thing that any of us want to do is leave a mess for our families in the wake of our untimely passing.  This holiday season the number one gift you can give to your family is to create an estate plan to ensure that all of the business matters surrounding your death are taken care of and your family can focus on what really matters, mourning your death.

Know you aren’t alone in your procrastination.  As many as two thirds of Americans don’t have any type of will in place and fewer than one half of us with a will have an estate planning documents in place.  Planning for your final days is not something anyone wants to do let alone put in writing long before we hope that time is upon us however it will allow the transition to be that much easier on your family.

First and most importantly, meet with an attorney that specializes in estate planning.  This is an important piece of the puzzle.  They will help you begin the process of getting your affairs in order by helping to create a will.  Having a will in place allows you to decide how you split up your estate, who will raise your children and so forth.  Without a will in place the state is left in charge of deciding upon these very important and personal affairs.

Most often estate attorneys will recommend getting some type of life insurance coverage to assist in providing financial support for your family when you are no longer able to.  To be safe it is important that the coverage you purchase should be enough to pay off outstanding debts and fund future foreseeable goals.

The next item on your plate is to delegate control.  Three main documents are needed to do this: a durable power of attorney, a release of information and an advance directive.  In our next installment detailing estate planning we will go into depth regarding each of these documents and the headaches having them in place will save your family from.

The Law Office of Sean J. Nichols is dedicated to assisting clients throughout legal issues that come with aging including: elder law, estate planning, probate law and more.  Check out the Law Office of Sean J. Nichols at http://www.seanjnichols.com to contact an estate attorney today.