How to Avoid Leaving Behind a Literal and Figurative Mess for Your Children When You Pass Away

For many people approaching the subject of state and retirement planning, it is worthwhile to include everything in your worldview. Not leaving a mess for your children, either financially, legally or literally, is another goal that far too many people forget about.

A comprehensive estate planning attorney can help you look at your estate plan from a 10,000-foot view, so that you can incorporate all of your goals and desires into your future plans and strategies.

Your family members will have a lot of things to figure out and cope with after you’ve passed away or even if you suffer in an incapacitating event. Your choice to help them avoid these serious issues by planning ahead with a lawyer. If you’re an adult child, you may have already helped a loved one with a nursing home stay, a move to a retirement community, or another big change in their life. This might have encouraged you to do your own planning.

Avoid Stress for Your Children

Leaving behind a mess for your children can create additional stress during a difficult time. A literal mess is a cluttered house from a parent who neglected to go through their belongings and reduce things they no longer need. A good place to start if you are not yet prepared is to ask children for any desires they have for personal items. This can help you carve out the materials you wish to keep. A legal or financial mess can develop as a result of failing to put together an elder law estate plan in the event of disability and death.

Plan for Your Life and Beyond

Most people associate estate planning with looking ahead to the future after they pass away, but it is equally important to consider the potential for’ incapacity or disability. Most people want their spouse followed by their children to take over for them in the event of a sudden disability, but without the right tools, like a power of attorney or a health care proxy, your spouse or children might not be able to do so. You can avoid the frustrations of spending money, lost time, and the invasion of privacy of a court proceeding by articulating an elder law plan today.

Don’t Forget Long-Term Care

Since nursing homes can cost as much as $18,000 a month, your children may find themselves in the office of an elder law attorney, trying to figure out the best way to support you and get you the medical care you need in the event of an illness or an accident. The children are the ones who frequently deal with the stress of figuring out the next steps for long term care. Using a Medicaid asset protection trust or long-term care insurance many years before, might make things easier for your loved ones should they need to spring into quick action after the diagnosis of a medical problem that requires significant support. There are so many different things to consider in the process of establishing an estate plan, that touches on your legal, financial, and personal protections. Many people forget the intangibles in the estate planning process and might not remember that in this digital age, planning for your digital assets is important as well.

Consulting with an experienced estate planning attorney can open your eyes to the many issues that face people in this complicated and extremely important era of estate planning. Your decision to do planning now can make things much easier for your loved ones should something suddenly happen to you. A knowledgeable estate planning attorney will understand the intersection of long term care, elder law concerns, financial strategies and estate planning when putting together tools for you.