|
|
Post by deafpea on Feb 29, 2016 15:20:00 GMT
This is a little bit morbid, but it's something everyone needs to have done, so why not do it while life is still good.
Last night my family had a family dinner. My parents are in their early 70s. They are in good health and active. Recently they went through their legal documents and updated/had documents made to prepare for end-of-life. They are not expecting anything bad to happen--it was just something they felt should be done while they could still make decisions.
They encouraged all of us (myself and my 3 siblings) to do the same. We all own homes, we all have retirement accounts, vehicles and other assets. Three of us have children.
So, what do I need? Parents mentioned a will, a power of attorney, a living will, an advance directive, and a trust. What else would I need?
If it helps, I have 4 children age 16, 14, 7 and 4. I own my own home and two cars. My husband has a retirement account (401K), life insurance, and health insurance (medical, dental and vision). There may be more that I can't remember at the moment--I should sit down and talk with him about exactly what benefits he has. We have bank accounts at two banks--savings and checking. I have never worked at a salaried job so all I would have is Social Security.
I'm in my mid-40s and in good health. So is my husband. We aren't trying to be all gloom-and-doom, the world is ending but we do want to be prepared.
Your advice is much appreciated.
|
|
momto4kiddos
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,151
Jun 26, 2014 11:45:15 GMT
|
Post by momto4kiddos on Feb 29, 2016 15:40:57 GMT
See a lawyer who specializes in estate planning. We have wills, power of attorney documents and such (can't remember them at the moment.)
Wills give directives to who will be guardians to minor children as well as how estate is to be divided up. He also made sure he gave us the info on how to get all our policies - life insurance as well as any investments worded. Basically who the beneficiaries are.
When I made sure all policies were in order, I put a copy with the wills so that they were easily accessible.
It's not so much a doom and gloom thing as it is being smart and being prepared for anything. I wanted to make sure my kids were taken care of so we got it done.
|
|
|
|
Post by Darcy Collins on Feb 29, 2016 16:14:43 GMT
At a bare minimum you need a will to state your wishes as to the guardian of your minor children in the unlikely event both you and your husband die. When you meet with the estate attorney, you can determine whether it makes sense to set up a trust (depending on the probate process in your state as well as the size of your estate will determine if it's worth the expense).
|
|
keithurbanlovinpea
Pearl Clutcher
Flowing with the go...
Posts: 4,273 
|
Post by keithurbanlovinpea on Feb 29, 2016 16:16:02 GMT
You don't need a trust (typically) unless you have assets that you don't want locked up in probate after you die. Definitely speak to an estate attorney.
Please also make sure you each have at least enough cash to cover funeral expenses or you have life insurance policies with each other as beneficiaries to pay for those expenses. Make your funeral plan wishes known as well (burial or cremation? embalming and viewing or not? service at church, funeral home or no service? religious or not? music, pictures, graveside?). If possible, shop for a funeral home and buy plots or crypts now.
I say this because my dad just passed away and he did not make his wishes known at all. Planning it all was exhausting. So many decisions.
|
|
|
|
Post by Darcy Collins on Feb 29, 2016 16:23:31 GMT
You don't need a trust (typically) unless you have assets that you don't want locked up in probate after you die. Definitely speak to an estate attorney. ... There can be a significant cost factor to consider as well. The probate costs in some states is expensive - it's typically around 5% in California. Even a modest estate with a house of $300,000 - and a few other assets - can pay tens of thousands of dollars in probate. A trust will typically run $2,000-$3,000 (again assuming is a simple trust with simple assets). Now in other states the probate process is straightforward and a trust will give little to no benefit for a modest estate. |
|
|
|
Post by jenjie on Feb 29, 2016 16:34:47 GMT
Will - who gets your kids and who gets your money. I'm sorry I can't remember if you stated in your OP if you are married. Dh and I did simple wills naming each other as beneficiary and who our kids' guardians would be in the event of the death of us both.
Now that it's just me, I need to meet with an estate attorney and redo my will, as well as set up a trust. As my accountant explained it, I can set it up so my kids receive x amount of money at different intervals - ages 18,21,30,35 so they don't blow it all at once before they have the maturity to handle it.
Power of attorney - somebody who is authorized to make legal and financial decisions for you in the event you are incapacitated
Medical power of attorney - somebody who is authorized to make medical decisions for you in the event you are incapacitated. This would be the person to carry out your wishes in the living will but also there might be other times they would need to advocate for you in a medical situation. If you were at the hospital and unable to make decisions for yourself, this would be the person they would call.
Living will and advance directive are the same thing. This is your end of life decisions. Do you want lifesaving measures taken or not? There are different forms which range from simple to complex. The 5 Wishes form is very simple. We used it because I couldn't get dh to talk about more than these simple questions. He just wasn't going there. But when push came to shove, the ER Doctor said it was too vague. So his parents and I had to make those decisions anyway.
I have plans to sit down with a nurse friend and go step by step through one of the more complicated forms so I don't burden my kids or medical POA with unanswerable questions.
You also want to make sure you have sufficient life insurance to provide for your kids in case something happens while they are still of the age to be cared for. I am in the process of increasing my life insurance at the recommendation of my accountant. I asked his opinion. There needs to be enough so that the guardians are not footing the bill for your kids' upbringing. You don't need enough insurance to set your kids up for life, just enough to help them get started.
It's wise to make these decisions on a sunny day. It's hard to do it when you're facing your mortality.
|
|
|
|
Post by littlemama on Feb 29, 2016 17:00:39 GMT
Speak to an estate attorney. One thing in your post confused me, though "I have never worked at a salaried job so all I would have is Social Security". What does being salaried have to do with anything? Do you mean you have never worked at a job that offered a pension?
|
|
|
|
Post by cmpeter on Feb 29, 2016 17:03:46 GMT
You should also have a life insurance policy on yourself to ensure your husband has adequate resources to pay for child care should something happen to you. Even if you haven't contributed a paycheck to the household, there is a significant cost factor to the work done by a SAHM.
|
|
|
|
Post by ntsf on Feb 29, 2016 17:38:31 GMT
some states like California..you would benefit from a trust. some states like Washington, you do not...that is why it is worth spending some money on an attorney. our attorney also suggested creating a document with a narrative..of what your wishes are and a list of passwords.. a list of all assets...things like that.
we are actually at the point where we dropped all life insurance..except the amount from work.. we don't really need it. and we spend enough on other insurance.
|
|
|
|
Post by Restless Spirit on Feb 29, 2016 17:58:57 GMT
We each have:
* A Will
(with a separate Memorandum of Specific Bequests)
* Revocable Trust
* Durable Power of Attorney
* Appointment of Health Care Representative
* HIPPA Release and Authorization
* Living Will Declaration
|
|
|
|
Post by AN on Feb 29, 2016 18:02:42 GMT
We each have wills, financial POA, medical POA, and advanced directives. No need for a trust at this point. I have a file called a "Legacy file" (idea taken from Dave Ramsey), I compiled the document from a handout from a financial planner, some info I found online, and other things I thought up. It has as much "essential" information as I could think of. Final wishes (detailed), contact info for both sides of the family, passwords, login names, financial accounts, insurance policy numbers, who to contact at each of our jobs for benefits and other things like that. I update it once a year and keep a copy (minus passwords) in a specific drawer in our house, with copies of our wills/directives/POAs in it. Password sheet stays in the safe. A full copy plus our originals of our wills/etc are in the safe. I also email a copy of the Legacy file document (again, minus passwords) and our wills/directive/POAs to a trusted family member on each side of the family every year (people who are our executors if we were both to pass away). Anyway, here's a link to the template I use for my legacy file - you can download and edit it: drive.google.com/file/d/0ByZp_I8TbQU6Y1NVY1poa3hsLTA/view?usp=sharing |
|
|
|
Post by deafpea on Feb 29, 2016 18:51:57 GMT
Speak to an estate attorney. One thing in your post confused me, though "I have never worked at a salaried job so all I would have is Social Security". What does being salaried have to do with anything? Do you mean you have never worked at a job that offered a pension? I just meant I've never worked at a job that offered benefits such as insurance, retirement, etc. Maybe I should have said that instead.  Thank you so much for all your advice. I really appreciate it! Merilee |
|
|
|
Post by littlemama on Feb 29, 2016 19:19:11 GMT
Speak to an estate attorney. One thing in your post confused me, though "I have never worked at a salaried job so all I would have is Social Security". What does being salaried have to do with anything? Do you mean you have never worked at a job that offered a pension? I just meant I've never worked at a job that offered benefits such as insurance, retirement, etc. Maybe I should have said that instead. Thank you so much for all your advice. I really appreciate it! Merilee Ah, that makes sense. Salaried just means that you get paid a set amount per pay, no matter how many hours you work. It doesn't relate directly to benefits or retirement. |
|
|
|
Post by Restless Spirit on Feb 29, 2016 19:32:29 GMT
Thanks for the link to the Legacy File document AN. That's a great supplement to the official documents we already have implemented. Thanks again. |
|
|
|
Post by Lexica on Feb 29, 2016 19:37:16 GMT
This is a good reminder for me. I had everything done when I divorced and my son was an infant. I also set up staged releases of money to him, but he is now 32, and I think the last percentage was to go to him at 30. I also want to alter a few other things, and seeing this post will put this back on my radar. Thanks!
|
|
