How Do I Talk to My Family About My Estate Plan?
It may be uncomfortable to talk about a future time when you are no longer around to be with your family. It may be difficult for your family members to acknowledge this, as well. However, this conversation must be had, as your family must be well aware of your estate plan before it is too late to share it with them. With that being said, please read on to discover the best way to talk to your family about your estate plan ideas and how one of the seasoned Butler County estate planning & probate attorneys at Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning, LLC can help alleviate some of the difficulties that come with this.
How do I talk to my family about my estate plan ideas?
Since your estate plan is something that should be taken seriously, you should schedule formal sit-downs with your family members to discuss it. It might be best to take a slower approach and plan for a series of conversations, so as to not overcome them with everything all at once.
Also, it may be worth having one-on-one conversations with the family members you gave or wish to give important responsibilities to within your estate plan. For example, you may sit down with the family member you were considering as the executor of your Last Will and Testament, or the trustee of your living trust. Here, you may clearly outline their expected duties by law and ask if they are able and willing to take this on when the time comes. The same may be done with the family member you wish to inherit your business assets at the time of your unfortunate passing.
How do I alleviate some of the burden from my family?
While it is important to get your estate planning intentions out there, you do not want to overwhelm your family members to the point that they are unable or unwilling to talk about this topic anymore. However, we do recommend having a single person in charge of knowing all the ins and outs of your prepared estate plan. Our proposed resolution to this is to assign this responsibility to your hired attorney.
Specifically, your attorney may keep your original estate planning documents and store them in safekeeping, all while you keep copies for yourself and inform your family members on where to access them if needed. Also, your attorney may keep a master list of your usernames and passwords for important accounts (i.e., bank accounts, social media accounts, computer files, etc). With this, you may want to give your family members your attorney’s contact information so that they may reach out to them for any questions, concerns, or requests in the future.
In conclusion, if you need legal assistance urgently, please do not miss another opportunity to schedule an initial consultation with one of the competent Butler County estate planning & probate attorneys from Heritage Law & Estate Planning, LLC. Contact our firm today.
