What documents would you need for estate planning? There are three main documents we suggest having if you’re going to undergo preparing an estate plan.

Create A Will

You need to have a will when estate planning. Many people say, “Well, I don’t necessarily need a will, everything I have has a beneficiary or maybe a joint owner,”. Be that as it may, but we do suggest having a will. If you pass away without one, it’s called dying intestate, and the state that you live in must decide where your money goes. It’s going to be a much simpler and easier process if you have a will.

A Living Will

A living will doesn’t necessarily concern the assets that you have, but more of from a health care standpoint. What are the instances where you do or do not want to have extraordinary measures taken to possibly keep you alive? Who would be the person to make decisions on your behalf if you were incapacitated and could not make those decisions on your own?

Durable Power of Attorney

A durable power of attorney is another document we suggest having for estate planning. This could be very important. A power of attorney designates someone, often a spouse, to act on your behalf, sign your name in place of you and make decisions for you. Having a durable power of attorney means that even if you become incapacitated, that power of attorney is still valid and can still be used. There are measures from an estate planning or a Medicaid planning standpoint, where you’d need to have a durable power of attorney in place ahead of time. If you didn’t already have one, you couldn’t get one at that point and some of the measures that you could’ve taken are essentially off the table.

What About Trusts?

People ask us, “Should I be doing a trust? Where could that make sense?” and it depends on the situation. Most often, a trust would give you some type of asset control from beyond the grave, if you desire to have that. Maybe you have an adult child that you’d certainly want to give the assets to, but you’re not confident they would make the right decisions with the money. A trust would enable you to control the money from beyond the grave. Maybe you have property in multiple states. Instead of going to probate within each state, you might want to own those properties within a trust. There could be other, more extensive reasons to possibly have a trust in your estate plan.

Thanks for joining me and I hope you found this information helpful!