Making an estate plan is important for everyone to do. There are many good reasons to have an estate plan and it can be helpful for family members to know what they are and how to talk to their loved ones about estate planning.
Questions to ask to help parents begin the estate planning process
There are several things to think about when estate planning and when considering the importance of estate planning. Questions adult children may want to ask their parents to help them prepare and plan for estate planning can include:
- Who do they want as their primary caregiver?
- How do they plan to pay for healthcare expenses?
- What are their medical care preferences?
- Who will make medical decisions on their behalf?
- How should their property be handled when they die?
- Do they have valuable items they want to be handled in a specific manner?
- What are their important documents, and where are they? Are they digitized?
Asking these questions can help loved ones understand the value of estate planning and that it can help them ensure their property and assets go to those they wish and that their family members will be cared for. It can also provide assurance that their medical care will be handled according to their desires and that their finances will be managed if they are unable to do so.
Estate planning also has tax benefits. No two estate plans are the same just as no two lives are alike. That is why estate planning tools are important to understand because they can help the estate planner build and estate plan that is right for them.