ESTATE PLANNING PRESENTS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY for you to provide for your loved ones after you die, to the very best of your ability and in accordance with guidelines you establish. It can also assure that your financial and health care matters will be attended to, by the person you select and as you have directed, if you later become unable to take care of those things personally.

Estate planning is not merely for seniors. Anyone with loved ones and a concern for their future will benefit from having an estate plan. Such possibilities as the birth of additional children and grandchildren, and the deaths of other loved ones, can be anticipated by a well-conceived estate plan.

Estate planning is a very wise investment. After all, we all die sooner or
later. Knowing that you have planned and provided for your future and that of
your loved ones provides a wonderful feeling of security and peace of mind.
To get started, you should do three things: establish planning goals; inventory your assets; and decide who will assist you in carrying out your plan.

ESTABLISHING PLANNING GOALS

Establishing planning goals is a very personal process. In deciding which
loved ones to provide for and how to provide for them, you need to ask yourself
a number of questions:

Will your spouse need financial or other assistance if you die first?

How can you best provide for your children?

Should you protect their inheritance for them?

Are there other loved ones, within or outside your family, you would like to provide for?

Do you want your estate plan to continue or perhaps expand your lifetime support for churches or charities?

THE ESTATE PLANNING PROCESS

What if one of your children or other loved ones dies before you?

Will your assets and life insurance be sufficient to take care of your family after you die?

Can you afford to give any money or property away during your life, and still have enough left to meet your own potential needs?

If you become disabled or incompetent, who should make financial and health care decisions for you?

What directions or guidance should you give them?

And, of course, it’s everyone’s goal to avoid death taxes and the hassles and expense of probate. Whether you achieve that goal can depend not only on the size of your estate, but also the manner in which it has been planned and the way that the plan is carried out.