No one is more important than our family, hence, we have to do anything that’s in our power to protect them at all costs. Sadly, a lot of people nowadays do not have estate plans or even if they do, they are pretty much outdated.
Now, during a pandemic when everything is so uncertain, lots of people can find themselves in potentially dangerous situations. The solution to particularly this issue doesn’t have to be complicated at all.
There are only a couple of steps that need to be taken to make sure your loved ones are secured. If you are not sure where to begin or what to do, don’t worry. We got your back! With these tips, you will easily do the possible.
Easy Steps To Protect Your Beloved Ones
Verify The Primary And Secondary Beneficiaries
When you define beneficiaries for your financial accounts, which also includes retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, life insurance policies, payable-on-death bank accounts, and many other things, you are practically determining who is going to get those assets when you die.
Now, if you do not wish to leave a brokerage or retirement account to somebody (such as your former spouse or estranged family member) you should then name a beneficiary. Furthermore, it would be recommendable to name a secondary beneficiary for these accounts as well.
That’s advisable in case the primary one dies before you. It’s of huge importance to review all these beneficiaries on a regular basis, especially if something like remarriage, divorce, marriage, or death has occurred in the family.
Do not think that an updated will is going to protect you from obsolete beneficiaries. Therefore, you must coordinate your selection of beneficiaries with the provisions of the will, along with the estate plan because if you name the wrong beneficiary it is going to defeat your estate planning.
Think About What You Want To Occur
Since this is an important moment in your life, you should take some time to rethink your wishes. If you do not know what to do, you can always either contact estate planning services or consult with a lawyer. Namely, there are some questions that you need to ask yourself:
- Who is going to make decisions on your behalf if you’re sick or possibly injured and therefore, unable to do anything?
- What type of life-sustaining measures do you wish to have before you leave the earth?
- Who is going to take care of your kids if you die before they turn eighteen?
- How are you going to divide your estate after you’re gone?
Now, it’s completely understandable if all these questions are difficult to ask and discuss with your loved ones, however, if you do everything upfront you are going to allow your loved ones to rethink everything you’re worried about.
Adding More Steps That Will Protect Your Beloved Ones
Talk To Your Solicitor About Trusts
If you determine a living trust, your estate can easily circumvent probate and all its associated expenses, but it’s highly likely you need only one if your estate is worth over two million US dollars, you wish to keep the terms of your property private or you have a real estate in more than one place.
Further, you might wish to make a trust within your will so that he or she can manage everything when you die. This is a great idea if you fall into at least one of these categories:
- You have a minor child and you do not want to leave your property directly to him/her
- You have adult kids but you are not sure they’re going to be able to take care of their inheritance
- You wish to protect all your assets from ending up with either a kid’s ex-spouse or creditor.
Generally speaking, setting trust in your will is supposed to be part of the attorney’s will-creation fee, however, if by any chance, you’ve done it separately, then you will probably have to pay from 1,000 to 3,000 US dollars.
Complete A Living Will Or Advance Directive
Both of these things represent a document in which you name a person who is going to talk to medical personnel concerning your treatment needs and preferences in case you become unable to do so. Problems included in a living will typically involve things like feeding tubes, breathing tubes, and other similar things.
As we stated in the beginning thinking and talking about these things is never easy and comfortable, however, if you want to make sure your family is going to be okay even when you die, then you should follow all these tips that we’ve talked about.
