A good estate plan will let you care for your loved ones even after your death. You can also use it to ensure that your assets go to all of the right places and get used in the right ways.
Having an estate plan is important as a first step, of course. It is also equally important to avoid common estate planning mistakes.
Designating a guardian
Forbes discusses some of the major mistakes that people make during estate planning. First, always remember to designate a guardian for your children. If you do not do this, the court will have to make its own decisions regarding your child’s care. They will of course make this decision with the child’s best interest in mind, but it may not be the choice you yourself would make.
Reviewing your beneficiaries
Next, always check your beneficiary designations in order to ensure they are still accurate. This means reviewing your estate plan every so often to make sure the beneficiary designations are up to date. You need to ensure that your designations also match your will because a mismatch in this information will give the court more work and may result in someone getting left out of their rightful share of your assets.
Establishing long-term care
Finally, establish your long-term care plans. This will give you the necessary access to medical care and support in your older age. It can help with the enormous costs of assisted living care or nursing home care later in life, which can also relieve a financial burden on your loved ones.