Over the past week, almost all my client meetings have centered around estate planning. We had three different clients building their estate plan with their attorneys in our office, updated beneficiary information for a client’s IRA, navigated the real estate sale for a deceased client’s family, and walked a family through the specifics of the role as Power of Attorney for the spouse of a client with dementia. And this was all in four days!
While you might think that it won’t happen to you, we are all going to die at some point in time. Defining your wishes on who gets what (and how) is an important decision. When we onboard a new client, we always ask about their estate plan. I usually start with these questions:
Who will make financial decisions if they can’t?
What do you want your legacy to be?
Who do you want to inherit your assets?
If they say that they don’t know or haven’t updated their wills in twenty years, I often say, “You must really hate your kids.” That’s a great conversation starter. Not having an estate plan means work for your heirs. They must find your assets, old 401ks, savings bonds, and gold coins for probate. Tax returns will need to be filed, and if they aren’t filed on time, there can be penalties involved. Estate work also takes time. We’ve seen estates that take years to settle. Homes stay vacant, investment accounts remain unmanaged, and family relationships get strained. Without an estate plan, there’s strong likelihood that many of these things will happen.
We help our clients map their estate plan, defining what they want to leave behind, and show them how to do it. We partner with local expert attorneys to accomplish those wishes and give them peace of mind that their heirs will be well taken care of.
So, don’t be like the groundhog and retreat when you see the shadow of your estate plan hanging over you. As Valentine’s Day approaches, show your family that you love them by defining and creating your financial legacy.
