A Checklist to Consider: What You Need Your Survivors to Know
Photo Credit: Glenn Carstens Peters, Unsplash
Key Points
Your loved ones can carry out your intentions thanks to an estate plan, which may help you lower estate taxes and retain more of your hard-earned assets. As part of a thorough strategy, you should
■ Make a will
■ Determine how your assets should be distributed
■ Keep your beneficiary designations up-to-date
■ Select a qualified executor for your estate
■ Tell family members where to find critical documents
A thoughtfully developed estate plan is one of the best things you can do for your loved ones. Making sure that your survivors have a plan that specifies where your essential documents are maintained will also make it simpler for them to carry out your desires.
The first steps in creating a successful estate plan are considering your situation, determining where you are right now, and deciding what you want to accomplish.
Although you should consult your financial adviser, investment expert, and legal and tax consultants, you may use this checklist to prepare immediately.
Funeral Arrangements
■ Choose the funeral service and burial method you prefer. Your decisions might impact the price. Get price information over the phone from a funeral director.
■ Be sure you understand precisely what you are buying, what will happen if the funeral home goes out of business, and what preparations are made if you change your mind about any of the arrangements if you decide to prepay your funeral expenses.
■ When you make the arrangements, you are provided copies of certain documents.
■ Inform your family about your intentions and arrangements and the location of the paperwork you retain for pre-paid funeral expenses and purchased burial sites.
■ Veterans, active-duty personnel, and their dependents are all eligible for free burial at national cemeteries. Some qualified veterans may be entitled to a payment toward burial and funeral costs if they are buried somewhere else. The allowance could be higher if the death resulted from military service or occurred in a VA hospital. Additional advantages include a ceremonial American flag, a gravestone, and a presidential memorial certificate. Ensure your family knows these advantages, how to obtain them, and your preferences.
Indicate Your Intentions
■ Make sure your family is aware of your wishes about organ donation.
■ Make sure your family members know the name of your preferred charity and where its offices are located.
Estate Planning
■ Choose a trustworthy person to serve as your executor to handle all financial and legal obligations following your passing.
■ Create a will to express your wishes in detail. You should speak with your lawyer to make a choice that conforms to state and federal requirements.
■ Make a separate list of bequests made outside your will if you give away some of your possessions, such as a prized antique table or jewelry, to prevent family members from looking in vain for the item or fighting over who should get it.
■ Make sure all of your things are visible to your heirs.
■ Inform your family members of your lawyer's name, contact information, and address. You could have a family meeting with the lawyer to discuss your intentions.
■ Provide a copy of the will to your lawyer or another responsible party, and keep the original at a location you have specified with your family. (Keeping your will or other important papers somewhere your family can't easily get them may not be a smart idea. The box's contents may be frozen by the bank upon your passing and not accessible to your family, depending on your state's rules.)
■ Think about appointing a durable power of attorney (someone who can make decisions on your behalf if you cannot) and making advance medical directives (documents that outline medical treatments you do and do not desire if you cannot convey your wishes).
■ Make sure the information in these documents is communicated to your family.
■ Tell your relatives where you store your vital legal and financial paperwork. Organize and correctly identify all statements, paperwork, and other papers.
Documents or information that your survivors will need include:
■ Will
■ Birth certificate
■ Marriage license
■ Financial statements, including those from banks, brokerage houses, and credit card and insurance agencies
■ Tax forms
■ Unpaid credit card and utility bills
■ Titles on property and cars
■ Mortgage payment information
■ Auto, home, and life insurance policies
■ Social Security number
■ Veterans Affairs identification
Other Checklist Items:
■ Provide your family with the names, phone numbers, and addresses of your accountant, financial adviser, investment specialist, and insurance agent.
■ To evaluate your financial and investment goals, you should invite your family to a meeting with your accountant, financial advisor, investment specialist, and insurance agent.
■ Make a list of the job perks accessible to your family following your passing. Maintain records for any retirement plans and insurance coverage that your company offers.
■ Tell your family the name of your job, the business's address, and the benefits division's phone number.
Important Disclosures
This material is provided for general and educational purposes only and is not investment advice. Your investments should correspond to your financial needs, goals, and risk tolerance. Please consult an investment professional before making any investment or financial decisions or purchasing any financial, securities, or investment-related service or product, including any investment product or service described in these materials.
Portions of this article were sourced from the work of MFS Heritage Planning. Neither MFS nor any of its subsidiaries are affiliated with Optima Capital Management.
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