WHAT IS A FAMILY ESTATE PLAN?

When considering a Family Estate Plan, you want to review your total estate.

Your estate consists of the value of your assets that you individually own, or own jointly with another person, such as:

 Your Estate Assets

1. Your home
2. Other Investment Real Estate
3. Bank Accounts
4. Retirement Accounts, I.R.A.s, 401Ks, etc.
5. Stocks, Bonds, Brokerage Accounts
6. Life Insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) policies, and Annuities
7. Autos, Motorcycles, RVs, Mobile Homes

 Your Liabilities

1. Your Debts and Liabilities At Death

Your Family Estate Plan

Your Family Estate Plan consists of an arrangement of various documents to serve you if, or when, you become incapacitated or disabled, and then when you die.  Included in your Family Estate Plan are your written instructions detailing what to do with your assets and a listing of your beneficiaries.  As your Family Estate Plan is developed by you and your attorney, consideration is given to the protection of your assets while you are alive, the transfer of your assets when you pass away, and the potential for taxes on your estate.  The goal of a well-drafted Family Estate Plan is to arrange your estate in a manner that helps you keep your hard-earned money and property at the least cost to you during your lifetime, and to your heirs when the time comes for them to inherit your estate.

The following documents should be in your Family Estate Plan:

Your Family Estate Plan should at least contain a Last Will and Testament for you, and your spouse if you are married.

Your Family Estate Plan though may be better served by including a revocable Family Living Trust.  A revocable trust is a written agreement that allows you to hold and control your estate assets and property during your lifetime.  When you pass away, your Trustee will then manage and distribute your estate assets to your beneficiaries in accordance with whatever instructions you included in your Family Living Trust agreement.

A Trust is very similar to a Last Will in that it also contains instructions on what to do with your assets when you die.  But a Trust avoids Probate if drafted properly, and if funded with your assets before you die.

Other documents you should consider adding to your Family Estate Plan include a Durable Financial Power of Attorney.  A Financial Power of Attorney gives a trusted person that you designate the right to make financial decisions for you should you because incapacitated and cannot act on your own, like paying bills and making sure your family’s financial needs are being taken care of.

We also encourage our clients to include a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney in your Family Estate Plan.  A Health Care Power of Attorney gives a trusted person the authority to make health care decisions for you if you are mentally incapacitated, disabled, and cannot make your own health care decisions.

The other documents listed in the Family Estate Plan chart above should also be considered by you and your spouse.  The COVID Pandemic has encouraged many to consider drafting or revising their own Family Estate Plan.

Call or email our office to schedule your FREE Family Estate Plan consultation.  Schedule a FREE Zoom conference TODAY at mail@themendezlawfirm.com.  There’s No Obligation.  We’ll review your Family Estate Plan needs.