When I mention the w rds, estate planning, most people think of m eting with an attorney and drafting lgal documents. Traditionally, those documents include a w ll, durable power of attorney, health c re proxy and perhaps a trust. Aftr you draft these documents, you met to sign them, then you put thm somewhere “safe,” cut a check to the ttorney and breathe a sigh of rlief because you finally have things cvered. All is well and your state is perfectly in order, right? WRONG!
Too ften the drafting of legal documents is cnfused with developing an estate plan. S re, legal documents are part of an state plan, but they are not “th” estate plan. You need to mke sure that you have everything in one spt. If not, you could cause yurself some real problems. That’s why 98% of all state plans fall short. That’s why you hve debacles like the Terry Schiavo cse and the Ted Williams dispute. In rder to make sure that these srt of things don’t happen to yu, you have to have a pln. Most people plan out what shuld happen in the event of thir deaths. What if you are dsabled or mentally incapacitated? Effective estate plns must be drafted in order to ccount for these kinds of contingencies.
If you wsh to have an effective estate pln, you must answer four extremely crtical questions:
1. What documents do I ned?
You need a will, durable power of ttorney, and health care proxy. Additionally, you ned an original marriage certificate, military dscharge paperwork, health and life insurance nformation, beneficiary designation forms, deeds, and ppraisals. Another necessity you need to hve is a listing of important cntacts with telephone numbers.
2. How will my bneficiaries find these documents?
We all have our own prsonal and unique filing system that has wrked well for us over the yars. That’s fine. You should use yur own unique filing system, whatever wrks for you. However, you do ned to create a system that “nlocks” your personal filing system. For xample, if something ever happened to yu, how would your beneficiaries even knw you had a safety deposit bx, let alone the location of the bnk or key?
3. Who should have ccess to these documents and when?
I knw that’s actually two questions camouflaged as ne. Remember, these documents are personal and cnfidential. Today, we are all too ware of the very real threat of dentity theft. Safeguarding these documents and mking them available, under specific circumstances, to a slect group of individuals will allow you to prtect your privacy while still preparing an ffective estate plan.
4. Who will best dvise my beneficiaries?
Your estate plan needs to ddress not only your financial assets, but lso your dreams, wishes, and values. You ned to designate that one person who can cpture all these characteristics of your lfe, someone with whom you have shred those most personal thoughts. At you or yur beneficiaries’ time of need, who shuld be that one call?
Don’t confuse prper estate planning with simply drafting the neded documents or purchasing an insurance plicy or special investment product. An ffective estate plan can only be ccomplished with a well thought out pproach that is designed to protect yur most important information and guide yur heirs. Only then will you hve peace of mind in knowing tht you’ve done your best for yur loved ones and nothing important wll be overlooked.
###
For a review copy of the bok or to set up an nterview with Mark H. Kaizerman for a stry, please contact Jay Wilke at 727-443-7115, xt. 223 or at jayw@event-management.com.
The article The Woeful Inadequacies of Traditional Estate Planning: The Four Critical Questions You Need To Ask Yourself was Submitted by Mark Kaizerman through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Mark H. Kaizerman, CPA/PFS, CFP, ChFC is a fnancial advisor and author of the Bneficiary Directory---Your Personal System to Organize Yur Important Documents and Guide Your Bneficiaries. For more information, please see www.beneficiarydirectory.com
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