Explaining the Law, Empowering You

Once you know exactly what you have to give away, you will need to look at the various estate planning options that are available to and suitable for you. Fortunately, estate planning is not as difficult or as complicated as it is often made out to be. In most cases, it simply involves a detailed consideration of your situation in life and how you would like your affairs managed if you become incapacitated or how you would want your assets distributed in the unfortunate event of your death. Once you understand the options available to you, you should be able to answer these questions a lot easier. At that stage, you can use a number of devices and legal documents to put your estate plan in to effect.

Surprisingly, preparing the legal documents is often the easiest part of the process. The most difficult part for most people is actually deciding on what they want to include in their plan. This is because there are a variety of different issues to consider before finalizing your plan. At the very least, you must ask yourself (and illicit answers for) the following questions:

 

1. what assets do I own and how much are they worth?
2. how much debt do I have?
3. whom do I want to give my assets to when I pass away?
4. do I want to wait until I die before giving my assets away or would it be better if I did it sooner? 
5. who should I appoint to manage my assets if I am unable to do so due to ill health?
6. who should I appoint to take care of my minor children if I become unable to care for them myself?
7. who should make medical decisions on my behalf if I become unable to do so?

 

Of course, there are many other questions that can and should be asked. However, for the moment the questions above are probably enough to get you stated on your journey to preparing your estate plan.

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