Estate Planning

What is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is the process of arranging for an orderly transfer of your assets to the people you want to receive them.

Estate planning involves identifying who you want to give your assets to and when (during your lifetime, at death, or sometime after death).

Your estate plan may also include:

Ways to meet the financial needs of your family members if you die or become incapable of managing your affairs;
Steps to minimize taxes that you or your estate may pay; and
A plan to sell or pass on your ownership stake in a business.

Important Documents:

A lawyer is the professional you will require for the following documents. We recommend that our clients have these in place as they are extremely important documents.

Will

A will is a legal document in which a person specifies the method to be applied in the management and distribution of his or her estate after death. A will is the cornerstone of an estate plan, but your plan may also include powers of attorney, living will, trusts, business or partnership agreements, and life insurance.

Enduring Power of Attorney

You sign an enduring power of attorney in the event you are incapable of making your own decisions in the future. It is a legal document that allows you to choose someone (usually a family member or a trusted friend) to make financial decisions for you. In this instance, the person is called your attorney.

Personal Directive

A personal directive is a legal document that allows you to name the person(s) you trust to make decisions on your behalf should you lose mental capacity. It lists all of the areas in which they have decision-making authority.

Contact Rob Gillrie to find out more about how these pieces of the financial planning puzzle (wills, enduring powers of attorney, and personal directives) fit into your own estate planning.

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