Transparency with your estate plan represents an important step to ensure the administration runs smoothly, to prevent fighting, and to fulfill your wishes. If you do not communicate what is in your will or trust, issues can arise. Here are some common phrases that come up:
“My spouse and I know what we each want.”
While it is very important for your spouse to know your wishes, what happens if you and your spouse pass together or shortly after one another? We are right back where we started. Your loved ones would be lost on what to do to celebrate your life.
“I have told one of my children, but not all of them.”
We hear this a lot from clients. When one child knows your wishes, but the others do not, that can cause contention. When you only tell one child or person your wishes, it puts a lot of pressure on one person to not only fulfill those wishes, but also deal with the inevitable pushback of “Mom would want this!” “Dad would want that!”
“Our kids get along. We are not worried about anyone fighting!”
The article “Why Families Fight Over Inheritance” can shed some light on how common it is for families to fight after someone dies. We like to say you cannot underestimate how much death and money change everything. Most of the time, family disputes regarding inheritance or what your wishes are can be avoided by having a conversation with your loved ones.
We understand that death is not the most comfortable topic of conversation. Even if you are comfortable talking about it, your loved ones might not be. We are prepared to address the challenges of estate planning – so, let us help!
Family Meetings
Getting your estate plan completed by an experienced professional is step one. But what good is your estate plan if no one knows what it says or how it works?
One of the unique ways our firm can help is by offering our optional and complimentary family meetings. At these meetings, we go over what it means to be named a Personal Representative, Trustee, and Power of Attorney. We go through your binder and make sure that everyone knows each document’s purpose. We also go over important aspects of your plan, like how it will avoid probate.
Schedule a free initial consultation to learn more about how transparency is an important part of your estate plan!