Document Your Wishes Clearly
The most important step is clearly documenting your wishes in writing and ensuring your loved ones have copies or know how to access these documents.
Essential Documents
Healthcare Decisions
- Healthcare surrogate: Appoints someone to make medical decisions
- Living will: Expresses wishes about life support
- HIPAA authorization: Provides healthcare information access
Financial Decisions
- Living trust: Powerful tool for many (enables successor trustee to manage financial assets). Learn about living trust advantages
- Durable power of attorney: Essential for those without trusts, helpful even with trusts
Guardianship Planning
- Declaration naming pre-need guardian: Determines in advance who you'd want as guardian if necessary
The Power of Proper Planning
These documents ensure that if you're unable to make financial or healthcare decisions, you've already appointed trusted individuals to act on your behalf.
Include incapacity planning as part of your comprehensive estate planning strategy.
How Can I Ensure That My Minor Children Are Protected Should Something Happen to Me?
When providing protection for minor children, there are two main areas to address:
Who Will Care for the Children?
Short-term care: If you and/or your spouse are temporarily unavailable but at least one parent is still alive, who will care for the kids to ensure they don't go into state custody?
Long-term care: If unfortunately you pass away, who will take care of your children long-term?
How to Handle the Money
There have been many horror stories of children receiving large lump-sum inheritances at age 18. Most parents want to avoid this scenario.
The Solution
There are ways to ensure children don't receive large checks at 18, which could lead to disastrous consequences. Proper planning can provide financial security while protecting children from premature access to substantial inheritances.
Explore comprehensive strategies for protecting your family through proper estate planning.
