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Tag Archive for: estate planning basics

Your Essential Estate Planning Checklist

April 13, 2021/in Estate Planning, Resources

Estate planning is a process that many people often find stressful. This is true even for those who have dealt with this type of situation before.

We’ve put together a short estate planning checklist to help streamline your obligations. Let’s explore everything you should know.

A Comprehensive Will or Trust

As you may guess, one of your primary estate planning responsibilities is to develop a comprehensive will or trust. This is true even for those who do not have a substantial number of assets to distribute.

Without these documents in place, it can be notoriously difficult to ensure that the appropriate parties receive what they are entitled to. It’s not uncommon for the absence of a will or trust to result in legal complications for other individuals down the line.

Additionally, the wording of these documents is highly important. Individuals should be clearly defined, and there should be no question about what party is entitled to specific assets.

Wills that have ambiguous language can often lead to feuds over entitlement, legal battles, etc.

Power of Attorney

For those unfamiliar with this term, power of attorney refers to allowing a specific individual to act on your behalf.

To elaborate, it’s crucial to establish a strong power of attorney during your estate planning so that your assets are properly allocated. Otherwise, a court may be in charge of deciding how your assets or property are distributed.

More often than not, their decision will not align with your original intentions.

Power of attorney comes into play during scenarios where you are no longer fit to make decisions for yourself, such as if you are mentally incompetent or deceased. It’s highly recommended to choose someone who has your best interest in mind.

Designated Beneficiaries

As previously mentioned, you need to clearly designate what individuals are going to receive certain possessions or property. But, there’s an interesting component of estate planning that many people tend to overlook.

Certain types of possessions can be claimed by your heirs without being formally designated within your will or trust. For example, 401(k) plan assets fall into this category.

Declaring the beneficiary will ensure that this individual can handle your wishes appropriately. When choosing a beneficiary, it’s also worth considering their overall health.

If the individual that you designate is mentally incompetent or deceased, the court could take over instead. Additionally, the beneficiary that you name should be over the age of 21 in order to prevent complications from arising in the future.

Healthcare Power of Attorney (HPCA)

As the name suggests, a healthcare power of attorney allows another individual to make health-related decisions on your behalf.

This often comes into play when someone suffers from a debilitating mental condition, gets into an accident, etc. At this point, the HPCA (which is often a family member or spouse) can make decisions for the affected individual.

It’s best to choose someone you trust who has views that align with your own. Because this role is so important, you also need to designate a backup agent.

This individual will take over in the event that your designated HPCA is unable to act. Typically, a backup agent is someone who is not associated with the original HPCA.

A Letter of Intent

This document is as straightforward as it sounds — it declares exactly how your beneficiary should handle your assets. Common details include funeral arrangement requests or how to act during specific scenarios (such as giving money to a nephew after they graduate college).

In the event that your will is deemed invalid, a letter of intent could help the court gain insight into your original intentions. This is something essential to keep in mind, as your plans may otherwise fall through entirely.

Designated Guardians

For those who have children or are plan on having kids one day, it’s imperative that you clearly define designated guardians while planning your estate. Unfortunately, this obligation is often overlooked due to being preoccupied with the distribution of property or finances.

Additionally, individuals with children often do not foresee themselves becoming deceased or mentally incompetent before their children are grown.

The guardian you declare should be both mentally competent and enthusiastic about caring for your children. Additionally, they should be financially sound and capable of providing your children with a safe environment that is conducive to their development.

As you might expect, you should also name additional individuals as backups. Without these precautions in place, a court may rule that your children should be placed under the care of a family member you don’t trust.

In some circumstances, a court may even rule that your children are to be deemed wards of the state.

Create a List of Outstanding Debts

For those who are unaware, it’s possible that certain debts can pass to the beneficiary of your will. In some cases, the amount of debt that this individual experiences will outweigh the total value of the assets they receive.

To elaborate, let’s assume that the combined value of the assets someone inherits is worth $50,000. But, they also become responsible for $250,000 in secured loan debt.

To help navigate this situation, it’s highly recommended to get in touch with a professional and inform them about your concerns.

This Estate Planning Checklist Can Be Game-Changing

It’s essential that you keep it in mind. From here, you can use the above estate planning checklist to ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible.

Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to reach out to us today and see how we can help.

https://debruinlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/estate-planning-checklist-scaled.jpeg 1025 1531 Bryan De Bruin https://debruinlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo.png Bryan De Bruin2021-04-13 10:00:542021-03-18 13:03:38Your Essential Estate Planning Checklist

10 Steps to a Knockout Estate Plan

September 16, 2019/in Estate Planning, Resources

Nobody likes thinking about what will happen after they’re gone. Estate planning is essential, though, especially if you want to make sure your loved ones are adequately cared for after you’ve passed away.

Even though most people agree that estate planning is important, only about 40 percent of adults in the U.S. have some kind of will or living trust in place.

Are you part of this group? If not, what’s holding you back?

If you have no idea where to begin, why not start with some estate planning basics.

Read on to learn 10 estate planning tips that will help you create the perfect estate plan for yourself and your loved ones.

1. Start with a Will

If you haven’t done any kind of estate planning yet, a will is a great place to start.

As soon as you can, make arrangements to sit down with an estate planning attorney and work with them to put together a last will and testament.

If you die without a will, the state will distribute your assets according to their inheritance laws. This is known as dying intestate.

If you want to avoid this and have control over the distribution of your assets (as most people do), you need to write out exactly how you want your beneficiaries to receive them.

2. Provide for Minor Children

The next step is to ensure you provide for your minor children. Use your will to appoint a guardian for them if you and their other parent both pass away.

Remember that your minor children will also need someone appointed who can handle their inherited property or assets.

Appoint someone you trust to handle all their financial affairs and make sure their money is taken care of. It could be the same person appointed as their guardian or someone else entirely.

3. Create a Living Will

A living will is a document that provides information about the care you want to receive in the event that you become incapacitated and cannot communicate.

This document (sometimes referred to as an advanced directive) includes instructions on whether you want doctors to use life-sustaining measures like breathing tubes and feeding tubes.

4. Create a Power of Attorney

A power of attorney (POA) gives someone the authority to make decisions for you if you’re unable.

Some people give a power of attorney for their health care and another to handle their financial matters. Others use the same person to handle everything.

5. Consider a Living Trust

If you want your assets to avoid going through probate, a living trust might be a good option to consider.

Through a living trust, your assets go into a trust during your lifetime. At the time of your death, these assets are transferred to beneficiaries that you designate by a representative you choose, known as a successor trustee.

A living trust can help your loved ones save time and money and receive what’s been left for them sooner.

6. Purchase Life Insurance

If you don’t already have life insurance, now is a good time to purchase it. This is especially important if you have minor children and/or own your home.

Life insurance can also be helpful if you anticipate having to pay a lot of debt or estate taxes. It will ensure that your beneficiaries can still receive what’s theirs without having to use a portion of their inheritance to pay off any debts you leave behind.

7. Name a Beneficiary on Your Bank Accounts

When you’re making plans for the future, it’s a good idea to name a beneficiary on your bank and retirement accounts.

If you do this, your bank can transfer those funds to the beneficiary automatically after your death. They won’t have to go through probate, which helps to save your beneficiaries time and money.

8. Handle Estate Tax Obligations

The majority of estates will not owe any kind of federal estate tax. If your estate is worth more than $11,180,000, though, it will be subject to these taxes.

Make sure your bases are covered if your estate is worth an amount close to this number (or if you suspect it will be at the time of your death).

Learn about any state taxes that you might have to pay as well (these can differ from the federal regulations.

9. Gather Paperwork and Other Important Information

Make sure you have all the paperwork associated with your estate stored in one place. Keep it in a folder or binder, then store then binder in a locked safe or another safe place.

Let the executor of your estate, as well as your power of attorney, know where they can find these documents.

Remember to store your digital information in this folder or binder as well. Write down passwords to all your online accounts so that your descendants can access them and handle them according to your instructions.

10. Leave a Personal Letter

You may also want to write a more personal letter to your loved ones before you go. Often, people want to leave behind messages that don’t necessarily belong in a will or other legal document.

Leave behind a letter that details the type of funeral arrangements you’d like or to list sentimental items that you want to leave to certain family members or loved ones.

Give this letter to someone you trust, such as a relative, a friend, or your attorney, so they can pass it along to your loved ones when the time comes.

Move Beyond Estate Planning Basics

These 10 estate planning tips ought to be sufficient when it comes to setting up an estate plan that works for you and your loved ones.

What if you need to move beyond estate planning basics, though?

If you need additional help setting up your estate or handling other matters related to your will, we can help.

Contact us today at DeBruin Law Firm to learn more about our services or to schedule an appointment for a consultation.

We’ll get back to you within one business day so you can start planning for the future as soon as possible.

https://debruinlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/estate-planning-basics.jpeg 1025 1538 Bryan De Bruin https://debruinlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/logo.png Bryan De Bruin2019-09-16 09:02:432019-11-16 19:11:3310 Steps to a Knockout Estate Plan

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