WE ARE ALL UNIQUE.
Your childhood experiences were different than your best friend’s, your job duties are different, your family situations are different, and so on. It turns out we aren’t all the same! That’s why estate planning is an individualized process and can’t be accomplished with the standardized DIY tools found on the internet.
Your wealth isn’t measured just by the dollars in the bank, but by the well-being of the people you love. You show your love through acts of service. You want to pass on what you have worked so hard for your entire life and do it in a way that feels good and full of ease. You may be single, married, have children or not. The one common denominator is that you truly and deeply care about the people in your life. You want to make things as easy as possible for them, if and when something happens to you.
Your Current Family Situation
Click to learn how estate planning is important in your current family situation.
You don’t have children, but you do have a spouse, partner, or other loved ones. You want to ensure things are as easy for them as possible if, and when, something happens to you. You want to pass on what you have worked so hard for your entire life in a way that helps your loved ones know and feel your love… just when they’ll need it to most.
On top of that, maybe even more importantly, you want to choose who will receive what you’ve worked so hard to create. Also, you want to ensure that your “chosen family” will be able to care for and love you in the event of your incapacitation and inability to make healthcare decisions.
You have the primary responsibility for ensuring the well-being and care of your children. If something happens to you while they are minors, you want to ensure you’ve made the decision about who cares for them.
In the most ideal scenario, your child’s other parent would be suitable to take custody of your child if you cannot be there. But, in many cases, that’s not possible or desired. You may want the financial resources you are leaving behind cared for by someone other than your former spouse or partner.
No matter the scenario as a single parent, you need to take the steps necessary to legally document who you want to raise your child, how you want your child raised, and how you want your assets handled for your child.
When you are married with children, estate planning is usually straightforward. You want your spouse making decisions for you if you are incapacitated. Your assets go to your spouse when you die, and then to your children after your spouse is gone. Seems simple, right?
If it were that simple, our probate courts wouldn’t be clogged by the impact of the complexity of money and family. And, there wouldn’t be $58 Billion (with a B) of assets in the State Departments of Unclaimed Property across the United States.
There are a myriad of questions to be answered to ensure your family stays out of court and out of conflict in the event of your incapacity or death. Some tactical specifics need to happen to ensure your assets don’t end up lost to the Tennessee State Department of Unclaimed Property because your family overlooked something when you couldn’t be there to guide them.
If you are in a second (or third or more) marriage with children from a prior marriage, you must engage in estate planning that will keep the people you love out of conflict. No matter how close or friendly your new spouse and children may seem, upon your death there is an opportunity of an unavoidable, inherent conflict.
This conflict can be mitigated. You can ensure that the people you love most—your new spouse and your children—will each be well-taken care of with the most ease possible. You can even take actions to support them being on the same team in a time of grief. It does take planning though. We are well-trained and highly skilled in planning for the needs of blended families; people in a second (or third or more) marriage with children from a prior marriage.
Your wealth isn’t measured just by the dollars in your bank account, but also by the well-being of the people you love. You care enough to get your estate planning handled so your family will stay out of court and out of conflict, no matter what.
When you contact us for a Family Wealth Planning Session®, we will look together at everything you own, everyone you love, and what would happen to all of it when something happens to you. Then, you will be informed, educated and empowered to make the right planning decisions for the people you love.
