How Early Should You Start Estate Planning?

For many, estate planning is something that is often moved down the priority list, but realistically, how early should you start estate planning? The answer is right away! Ideally, estate planning should be started at a young age with adjustments along the way. However, even if you are past your youth there is no better time than right now, to get started with estate planning.

Here at the Tacoma Elder Care, we provide specialized estate planning and can work with you to ensure you get a plan started and that your wishes are met. If you haven’t chosen an estate planning attorney yet, we hope you will contact us for a free consultation.

Or better yet! Join us for one of our FREE Workshops!  You can find out more and register for a workshop HERE.

Estate Planning Is More Than Just A Will
While estate planning and creating a will have some things in common, they are not synonymous. If you already have a will and have been counting on that to be the only document you need, then it is time to learn more about estate planning.

A will is simply one component of an estate plan. It is an extremely important component, and if you do not have a legal will created yet, now is the time to do so. A legal will allows you to leave your property and assets to those you choose and designates legal guardianship in the case of minors in your care.
Estate planning, however, involves more than just a legal will. Estate planning should also include the following:

• Power of Attorney: An extremely important part of estate planning is designating a power of attorney. This person will have the control to make financial and health-related decisions in a situation where you are incapable of doing so. Make sure that when you choose this person they understand the responsibility they are taking on and provide them with as many instructions as you can about your wishes.
• Advanced Directive: Also known as a living will, this document will provide detailed instructions for what should be done for health-related scenarios if you are incapacitated. This will ensure that the medical care you wish to receive, or not receive, is followed.
• Trusts: Your estate planning can also include living trusts, which allow you to keep much of your assets outside of the probate process. This can also lead to lowered taxation on your assets. A trust will provide for people, organizations, and even pets that you designate.

 
What Happens If All You Have is a Will? Avoid the Loss of Funds and Time in Probate…
While no one likes to contemplate their death, estate planning requires you to think about what will happen to your loved ones and all your assets after you are gone. When you pass away, everything you own will be distributed according to your will. However, if you only have a will, the process becomes lengthy and potentially expensive. This is where the process of probate comes into play.
 
Probate is the judicial process in which a will is proven. And keep in mind, no one will be able to access the resources you left behind until probate has completed. This takes place in the court of law and often includes a number of costs including attorney charges and litigation costs. If anyone contests the will, the process becomes even more lengthy and time-consuming.

Not only is probate lengthy and costly, it will also ruin any privacy you and your family hope to retain after your death. Every part of probate becomes public record, leaving many people to feel that their family’s privacy has been compromised.

The good news is that through proper estate planning, you can avoid this unfortunate scenario. We can help you draft living trusts, establish charitable donations, and other tactics that will help make the process much smoother. At Tacoma Elder Care, we are committed to helping our clients through the aging process. We understand how confusing the system can be and how difficult it can be to make the right choices for your future and the future of your loved ones. We are here to help you avoid issues, such as probate, through proper estate planning.

How to Ensure Your Wishes Are Honored
Lastly, there is no better time than now to start estate planning to ensure your wishes are honored both in life and in death. We can help you create the documents you need to make sure your medical care is handled exactly the way you wish it to be if you should be incapable of making decisions. We can also ensure that when you pass away, everything is handled precisely the way you want.

We understand how important it is to honor each person’s individual wants. We believe in empowering our clients to make the necessary decisions now to ensure the future is handled with care. We welcome you to talk to us about your estate planning questions. When you come to us for help, we will walk you through the following multi-step process:

• Vision meeting: This is when we get to know you and your specific needs. During this stage, we can help you pick the right services for your needs.
• Design meeting: Next, we will walk you through a series of questions to ensure we are putting together the right plan for you.
• Delivery meeting: During this meeting we will go over every single page of our plan for you, ensuring everything you wished for has happened, no details have been missed and that all your documents are in order.

Tacoma Elder Care is Here for You
If you realize that now is the time for you to get to work on estate planning, we are ready to help you. Please reach out to us today. We will work hard to ensure you put together the right plan for your specific needs and your own unique wishes.  Or sign up for one of our FREE Workshops!