There are so many reasons to estate plan. Oftentimes, one of the biggest reasons is to be able to help and support our loved ones even after we are gone. It is to help further your goals for them and be there for them, albeit in a different way, after you have passed. It is a nice thought to think that your legacy will live on in such a positive way. As you work through the estate planning process, there will be decisions that need to be made and legal tools to execute. Additionally, there are a number of steps that you can take to help your heirs. For instance, there are a number of things you can do to help your heirs by organizing your affairs.
Help Out Your Heirs By Organizing Your Affairs
The ways you can organize your affairs to help your heirs are actually quite simple enough, but failure to take these steps can leave a real mess for your loved ones to arrival after you have passed away. Consider, for example, organizing your financial accounts. This means your bank accounts, more specifically. Many people have opened more than one bank account in their lifetimes. Just as many people are likely to have left a string of bank accounts open along the way. It is, therefore, quite common for a person to have multiple bank accounts, in addition to their primary account, that are likely left with minimal balances. To help your heirs and streamline your affairs, consider going back, closing your bank accounts, and transferring the balances to a primary account.
You can also take a big step towards organizing your affairs by checking your beneficiary designations on your life insurance policies and retirement accounts. Without a named beneficiary on your life insurance policies and retirement accounts, these assets will pass into your probate estate. The more you can keep out of the probate estate, the better as probate is notoriously stressful, time consuming, and expensive. It also delays the receipt of the asset by your intended heir or beneficiary. When you name a beneficiary, however, the asset will pass directly to that named individual.
Another important part of organizing your estate to help your heirs is to explicitly detail to your personal representative where you have assets and holdings and how they can be accessed. This kind of information can be included in a statement of guidance. Be specific about where certain asset are and access information. This will include things such as where you have safe deposit box and where your digital assets are stored. Think about the time and effort this will save your personal representative and your loved ones after you are gone. This is not even to mention the fact that this will help ensure your assets are located and properly distributed as opposed to being lost forever.
Estate Planning Attorney
Verras Law is here to help you develop a comprehensive estate plan. We go through the process step by step with you to make sure your estate plan protects a future you want for those you love most. Contact Verras Law today.