Estate planning

Shortly you will have an opportunity to prepare a form you can use as a planning device. Completing this form in advance could save you money if you visit a lawyer who charges by the hour. It also demonstrates that you are not an ordinary client, but one who is more in charge. This may result in your receiving better attention. Finally, it should mean you wind up with a better plan. 

Here are some ideas to help you to prepare your form. 

List Your Assets. Refer to your net worth statement prepared in Chapter 16 and record all assets at current market value. List any insurance policies at face value rather than cash-surrender value. 

Know Forms of Ownership. Knowing the form of your assets ownership saves you considerable time. To discover this, you may need to make a trip to your safe-deposit box. 

Know Designated Beneficiaries. Check all assets that allow for a beneficiary to be designated and verify that the current designations are consistent with your wishes. This includes life insurance policies, annuities, tax-deferred savings plans, bank accounts, and brokerage accounts. 

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DESIGNED and MANAGED a fee-based financial planning system incorporating investment, fringe benefits, business continuation, and estate planning. 

When confronted with the issue of estate planning, people react in predictable ways. Here are four typical reactions. 

This form is to be completed by those preparing or updating their estate plans before the first appointment with a lawyer. Do it in pencil so changes can be made easily. 

Soon it will be possible for people, in concert with their attorneys, to maintain wills and other estate planning documents on a home computer. This would make them easily changeable and provide other advantages. Even though not presently realistic, your will or trust should be viewed as an ongoing document, not a once-in-a-lifetime creation forever sealed and stored in a secret place. It needs to be updated periodically because of such possibilities as the following ... 

Estate planning is making sure that your property goes to the right people when you die. 

Quality estate planning also considers ways to minimize the cost of probate and estate taxes. 

The process of estate planning can be a positive experience and add to your quality of life. 

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