If you want to die peacefully, you must opt for estate planning or end-of-life planning. This will keep you prepared to fight all sorts of adversities that might arise during the final stage of your life.
If done perfectly, estate planning will keep you in control of things happening in your life till the very last minute and even beyond. However, to make sure that the plans work for you, you must avoid certain mistakes. The best way to avoid all these mistakes is to get in touch with the Weisinger Law Firm and allow them to manage the entire process.
The section below will introduce you to the five most frequently occurring estate planning mistakes.
Mistake #1: Not Having Any Specific Plan
If you want to see your plan work, you’ll have to be specific. There’s no difference between having a poorly designed plan and having no plan at all. The absence of a trust or will would mean that the fate of your assets will be decided by the succession law of your state and the subsequent probate process. If you don’t want the court and state laws to decide where your property and assets would go, start working with an experienced estate planner right away.
Mistake #2: Not Updating Your Plans from Time to Time
You cannot afford to forget your estate plans hoping that they will come into play only after your death. Often, updating estate plans becomes more important than preparing those plans. Never forget to update your plans after every major life event, when there are changes in your goals, or following amendments in public policies.
You shouldn’t find it difficult to make the changes in your estate plans if you seek assistance from your estate planner after every major life change. Do so even when the government brings in new regulations.
Mistake #3: Not Considering Long-Term Care and Disability
Recently obtained numbers suggest that around 70% of Americans above the age of 65 require long-term care. This is a big deal as right now a year’s stay at a private room in a nursing home would need you to spend over $100,000. And if you want to have a caregiver at home, it will cost you over $50,000 per year. This makes it mandatory that your estate planning includes elaborate plans for long-term care and disability.
Getting long-term care and disability insurance at some point in your life would solve this problem. Your estate planner will help you to choose the right insurance policy.
Mistake #4: Not Considering Tax Liability
The federal law might consider estate tax liability to be a problem for the rich and famous but the laws in your state might not be so lenient. So, you must speak to your estate planner to ensure that you don’t need to lose money by paying high amounts of taxes towards the end of your life.
Final Words
The above points should have helped you understand the importance of estate planning. In order to have an efficient plan lies in finding a good estate planner. So, always make sure that the planner you are working with has a good reputation.
