If you have started thinking about what’s going to happen to your possessions and your financial assets after you pass away, you’re probably thinking about writing a will. This is the most common estate planning document, where you can list out the items that you own and the people you would like to receive them.
There are people who believe that all you need is a will and that you don’t really need to do any more estate planning beyond that. But is this true?
Estate plans can be much more comprehensive
A will is a good place to begin, but you don’t want to think of it as the totality of your estate plan. There are many other options that you may want to consider, such as:
- Choosing a guardian to take care of your children if they’re still minors.
- Setting up a trust so that you can designate how your money is supposed to be used after you pass away.
- Creating a medical power of attorney so that someone can make medical decisions on your behalf.
- Creating a financial power of attorney so that someone can pay taxes and take care of your bank accounts,
These are just a few examples of different things that you can put into your estate plan, and everyone is going to have different needs and requirements. The key is simply to consider exactly what goals you have for that estate plan and then to look into all of the tools that may help you accomplish them. That could mean going well beyond just writing a will and listing your assets, so carefully take the time to look into all of your legal options.
