1. Make a will.
You can nominate guardians for your children, name an executor to handle your estate, set up testamentary trusts, and choose how your property will be passed to loved ones after you’re gone. This is an excellent tool to handle many affairs.
2. Consider a trust.
There are many great reasons to use a trust to hold property, and a few drawbacks. Talk to your estate planning attorney about whether this is the right option for you.
3. Make health care directives.
We help people write health care powers of attorney and living wills. This can be used to designate decision-makers to help make medical decisions about you when you are not able. This can be used to eliminate quarreling between relatives and take away the burden of making difficult decisions by your family.
4. Make a financial power of attorney.
With a durable power of attorney, you can give a trusted person authority broad authority to handle your finances and property. This is a great end of life planning tool, but it is also incredibly useful during your life.
5. Protect your children’s property.
You should name an adult to manage any money and property your minor children may inherit from you. This can be the same person as the personal guardian you name in your will or it can be someone else, including a corporate trustee.
6. File beneficiary forms.
Proper beneficiary designations for bank accounts, retirement accounts, etc. can make the account automatically “payable on death” to your beneficiary and allows the funds to likely bypass the probate process. Likewise, in almost all states, you can register your stocks, bonds, or brokerage accounts to transfer to your beneficiary upon your death.
7. Consider life insurance.
If you have young children or own a house, or you may owe significant debts or estate tax when you die, life insurance may be a good idea.
8. Cover funeral expenses.
There are a number of ways to handle funeral expenses, such as a separate payable on death account, or life insurance. Prepaid funeral arrangements are not necessarily reliable (an article for another day).
9. Make final arrangements.
Make your wishes known regarding organ and body donation and disposition of your body — burial or cremation.
10. Protect your business.
If you’re the sole owner of a business, you should have a succession plan. If you own a business with others, you should have a buyout agreement.
11. Store your documents.
The folks you put in charge will need to access your will, trust, insurance policies, deeds, stock certificates, bank accounts, IRA’s, 401(k)’s, credit cards, mortgages, utilities, tax bills, funeral arrangements, etc. It’s important to have those somewhere that can be located.
Hopler & Wilms, LLP
2402 S. Miami Blvd., Suite 203
Durham, NC 27703
(919) 244-2019
law@hoplerwilms.com
