What is estate planning?

What is Estate Planning? Estate planning is a process involving the counsel of professional advisors who are familiar with your goals and concerns, your assets and how they are owned, and your family structure.

How do I execute my estate plan?

To execute your estate plan, you must designate someone to act on your behalf if you are unable to do so — as executor of your will, trustee for your assets, legal guardian for your dependents and/or personal representative or power of attorney if you became incapacitated.

What should be included in an estate plan?

A primary goal for many estate plans is to protect and provide for loved ones and their future needs. Your estate plan should include provisions for any children, including naming a guardian for children under age 18 and providing for those from a previous marriage — if you remarry, your assets may not automatically pass to them.

What happens if you die without an estate plan?

At your death: If you die without a valid estate plan, any assets owned in your individual name and without a beneficiary designation or other governing contract will be distributed according to your state’s intestacy laws, typically through a court-supervised probate proceeding.

It should also: Include instructions for passing your values (religion, education, hard work, etc.) in addition to your valuables. Include instructions for your care if you become disabled before you die. Name a guardian and an inheritance manager for minor children.

Do you want to control your estate when you die?

No matter how large or how modest, everyone has an estate and something in common—you can’t take it with you when you die. When that happens—and it is a “when” and not an “if”—you probably want to control how those things are given to the people or organizations you care most about.