Estate planning is not something that you start thinking about when you are in your 70s. As soon as you have people relying on you, you have a responsibility to ease the burden if the unthinkable takes place.
Precautionary estate planning can provide peace of mind, and it is not as complicated as many people think.
Added Responsibilities
Every self-supporting adult should have an estate planning place in a perfect world. At the same time, in fairness, if you are a very young adult in your single with no children, it may not be a priority.
However, things change when you have a partner. At that point, you have to ask yourself where they would be financially if you were gone. When you have an estate plan and the appropriate level life insurance, your partner will be protected.
Providing for Minor Children
If you are young adult with minor children, you are not acting responsibly if you do not have a plan in place. While it is the exception rather than the rule, younger people pass away every day, and the Kobe Bryant tragedy underscores the fact that no one is immune.
Granted, you may not have the resources to provide for your loved ones for the rest of their lives. Once again, life insurance can provide the income replacement that is needed, and term life is quite expensive for younger folks.
Since children cannot handle their own money, you need to develop a plan that includes an adult to manage the funds. You could create a revocable living trust, and the trustee that you name would administer the trust on behalf of the child or children in the event of your passing.
Another possibility is a testamentary trust. This is a trust that is contained within a will, it would be created after your passing.
Incapacity Planning
Your estate plan should address the possibility of incapacity due to injuries sustained in an accident or an accident or illness. From a medical perspective, this is done through the utilization of advance directives for healthcare.
One of them is a living will. With this type of will, you state your preferences regarding the use of resuscitation, artificial hydration and nutrition, mechanical respiration, etc. You can also include your comfort care medication organ and tissue donation choices.
Medical scenarios can present themselves that are not covered in the living will. As a response, your incapacity plan should include a durable power of attorney for healthcare. You name agent in this document that will act as a representative if you cannot communicate your own decisions.
The agent a name would not be able to discuss her condition with doctors because of a provision in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Your plan can include a HIPAA release form to provide the necessary access.
There is also the financial part of the equation. As we stated, if you have a living trust, you can name a disability trustee to manage the trust if you become unable to do so.
To account for property that is not held by a trust, you can name a representative in a durable power of attorney for property.
Join Us at our Next Webinar Event this Saturday!
Join our next Estate Planning Webinar this Saturday, June 8th. By attending and staying around to have your questions answered you will qualify for a free consultation with Attorney Collins, so make sure to stick around to qualify! To reserve your spot, please register here. You can also visit our estate planning events page for more details and registration information.
We’re genuinely excited to meet you and delve into crafting a personalized, enduring estate plan that reflects your unique circumstances.
Attorney Caprice L. Collins is a top rated Harvard Law School graduate. She has 34 years of legal experience with a successful law practice devoted exclusively to Estate/Business Planning and Trust Administration. Attorney Collins is a well-respected keynote speaker on Wills, Living Trusts, Estate Planning, Business Planning and Trust Administration. She has appeared on California’s Real Estate Radio Station KTLK AM 1150 as a legal expert on Estate Planning and Living Trusts among many other notable media appearances.