Five Things To Remember When Preparing an Estate Plan

When developing an estate plan, there are several important things that a person who is developing the estate plan might want do when making the plan.

• First, it is important for the person to create a list of all that person’s assets, which can include a person’s a financial records, deeds, insurance polices, etc.
• Second, a person might want to a consult an attorney if the person is interested in creating an estate plan.
• Third, a person might want to consider thinking about who will inherit that person’s assets, and then a person might to create a will to ensure that his or her wishes are known.
• Fourth, that person might want to take the necessary steps to ensure that the person’s assets are taken care of during the the person’s life. More importantly, a person might want to create a document that lists how a person’s assets will be distributed at death. Also, a person might want to create a durable power of attorney to ensure that the person’s assets are managed during their life even if that person becomes incapacitated.
• Finally, the most important thing that a person should remember is that his or her efforts will be for nothing if they do not complete the estate plan. Implementation of the estate plan is just as important as the actual planning. Without it, the work and money spent on the plan are for nothing.

See NewsCores, Five Steps for Preparing Your Estate for Inheritance, FoxNews, July 13, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse(Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.