Planning your estate is something that is perceived to be a complicated process. Surely it has a lot of legal jargon and formalities involved, along with extended paperwork and updates within the legal framework. However, if you keep your estate plan prepared, you will be able to ensure that your final wishes are met without any worries.
At the same time, you need to ensure that your estate plan is well-prepared and aligns with your wishes to ensure that your family is financially secure and all your wishes are completed.
In this article, you will explore the top five important steps you need to follow as per a Real Estate Law Firm for estate planning. This will help you ensure proper and justified distribution of assets and that your family members are financially secure.
5 Important Steps You Need to Follow to Ensure Proper Planning of Your Estate
Firstly, it is essential to have the important documents for estate planning. These documents will save you and help your family manage your daily affairs in case you are dealing with any illness, hospitalization, or incapacitation. Specifically, it is also applicable even in the event of your death.
Still, estate planning can be a distressing process when you are navigating on your own. This is the process where you require legal assistance from experienced lawyers in Kitchener. They will guide you throughout the entire process and ensure all your wishes are fulfilled.
Furthermore, here are the five essential steps you need to follow while planning your estate:
Develop an Inventory of Your Belongings:
Many people believe they do not have enough assets to develop an estate plan. However, it is important to remember that your estate involves everything that you own. In fact, you will be surprised to find out the number of assets you have.
Hence, the first thing to do while planning your estate is to make an inventory of your tangible and intangible belongings. Tangible belongings include your home or real estate property. Intangible belongings include your savings account.
Once you have the list of all your belongings, you will be required to estimate their value. You can do so through recent property appraisals and statements from all your bank accounts.
Ensuring Protection of Your Assets:
After you take inventory of all your assets and determine all the things involved in your estate, you will definitely want to consider the needs of your family. It is important to consider protecting your assets and your family after your departure.
You should ensure that you have enough life insurance, depending on your family’s needs. You will also be required to choose a family guardian for your children after you’re gone and document your wishes for their care.
It is essential to have this information written down in your will and estate plan.
Establish Your Directives:
A basic estate plan involves several legal directives or documents that specify the actions that should be taken if you can no longer make decisions for yourself. If you don’t establish these directives, there might be severe consequences in case of your incapacitation or death without preparing a will.
Review Your Beneficiaries:
You would want to make sure that the right people are getting the right type of inheritance or responsibility. You should always review your beneficiaries because those designations can often outweigh the things that are written in your bill.
Many individuals often don’t remember who they have named as a beneficiary to their accounts. That’s why you need to check your retirement and insurance accounts to ensure you’ve added the correct beneficiary.
You should also name additional beneficiaries in case your primary beneficiary passes away before you and you’re unable to update your designations. Always keep your beneficiary section occupied, as it will help you ensure that your loved ones aren’t deprived of their rightful inheritance.
Plan to Reassess:
If you created an estate plan a long time ago, it may become inaccurate or may not comply with the latest legal framework. It is always recommended to revisit your estate plan on a periodic basis.
It is also extremely important to update your estate plan if you are experiencing major life changes like getting married, having children, starting a new job or business, or losing a loved one.
Your circumstances and situation may influence the way you decide to distribute your assets. Furthermore, the provincial laws are often subject to change, implying that you need better ways to safeguard your assets and the future of your family.
Documents Required for the Estate Planning Process
Some essential documents you need while planning your estate include:
Will:
A will is the most important aspect of your estate plan. It designates how you want your assets passed on to the beneficiaries of your choice. These assets include the tangible possessions along with your financial assets, investments, and even businesses.
Trust:
This is a legal document that helps you pass wealth directly to your next generation. It also helps you avoid any sort of interference from outside parties. This document will help you ensure quicker transfer of assets without requiring you to undergo any probate.
Power of Attorney:
A power of attorney allows you to choose the individual you trust to make financial decisions for you in case you are no longer capable of making any decisions. Without a power of attorney, essential decisions about your home or business could go to the courts, which will make decisions not similar to what you wanted.
Apart from all these things, you need advanced medical directives and beneficiary designations to ensure proper planning of your estate.
To Summarize
Planning your estate can be an overwhelming process. However, it can help you secure financial security for your loved ones and ensure that your assets are divided rightfully between them without the interference of a third party.
You just need to follow the five essential steps mentioned above to make sure that you plan your estate without any issues. Plus, you should consider seeking professional assistance from a kitchener lawyer, which will further help you reassure that your estate is well-planned and will fulfill your wishes after your lifetime