A lot of people think of the estate planning process as being straightforward, involving nothing more than the creation of a simple will. While a will can play an important role in your estate plan, there’s a lot more that can go into your plan to ensure that your needs are met and that your vision of the future is realized. And the best thing about the estate planning process is that it can be customized to suit your interests. To build the effective estate plan that you want and need, though, you have to gain an understanding of your estate planning options. Let’s look at some of them here.
How to use estate planning to meet your goals
Estate plans can look completely different depending on the goals they hope to achieve. Here are some ways that you may be able to use a custom-tailored estate plan to help you achieve your desired outcomes:
- Using trusts to protect your assets and loved ones when you’re in a blended family: If you’re in a blended family, then you might be worried about whether your children will be cut out of the inheritance scheme if you leave all your assets to your spouse. After all, without effective estate planning, your spouse wouldn’t have any obligation to pass those assets down to your children. But you can avoid that outcome by using your will and various trusts to ensure that your children’s financial interests are protected. A remainder trust is a good example of an effective tool that can be utilized here.
- Generating a will to ensure you children will be cared for: If you have young children, then you need to ensure that you have an appropriate caregiver who can step in to provide for them if you and their other parent pass away. Fortunately, you can use your will to name an individual who will act as guardian if this happens.
- Utilizing estate planning tools to ensure that your aging parents are taken care of: When our parents age, we become concerned about how they’ll afford their potential medical and long-term care needs, as well as how their medical and financial decisions will be made in the event that they’re no longer capable of making those decisions on their own. By talking to your parents about the estate planning process, they might grow more comfortable engaging in Medicaid planning to secure government assistance for their care while retaining some of their estate’s assets, as well as generating a health care directive and a power of attorney.
- Creating a special needs trust to ensure your child’s needs are met: If you have a child who has heightened and specialized needs, then you’re probably concerned about how they’ll take care of themselves when you’re gone. Here, you can create a special needs trust to ensure that they have the financial support they need without affected their ability to qualify for other government assistance. This trust can cover a lot, too, giving your loved one a wide range of protection.
Be creative in establishing your estate plan to suit your needs
There can be a lot of issues to address through estate planning. But don’t let the process overwhelm you. Instead, think carefully about what you want to get out of it and then work with your attorney to identify the documents you need in place to attain your goals. By being thoughtful and diligent, you can rest assured that you’ve done everything possible to protect your interests as well as those of your loved ones.