Four Stages of Estate Planning
Stage 1: You are alive and well
This stage entails one primary concern: How do I stay in control of myself and my property? Or, how do we stay in control of ourselves and our property? A common misconception is that estate planning results in surrendering of control. This is not true as long as you are capable of managing your affairs.
Stage 2: You become mentally incompetent
This stage addresses the situation of you become mentally incapacitated. Some important questions are:
- Who will make your financial decisions?
- Who will make your end-of-life decisions?
- More importantly, what are your guidelines for end of life decisions?
- Do you want all measures to be taken to save your life?
- Do you want all life-sustaining measures to end if certain conditions exist?
- What are the conditions that must exist to end life-sustaining efforts?
- The answers to these questions are personal and range from the Right to Life League to the Hemlock Society.
Stage 3: One spouse dies
(if you are single, go directly to Stage 4).Each marriage is different. There are no right or wrong answers to the following questions:
- Who will make the final decisions about your property, the surviving spouse? Or should the decisions you made jointly as a couple govern this issue?
- Do you want to make sure that if you are the first spouse to die that you ensure that your children receive a portion of your assets if your surviving spouse remarries?
- What do you want the surviving spouse to receive upon your death? Income? Principal? Everything including the ability to change your estate plan?
- Who do want make financial and administrative decisions if you were the first spouse to die?
Stage 4: Both Spouses Die (or if single, upon your death)
This state of planning includes most decisions that you procrastinate making in hopes that this will never happen. You should give serious thoughts to the following questions:
- Who will receive your money and property?
- When do you want the recipients to receive their money and property?
- Do you wish to leave all or part of your estate to a charity?
- Do you have children?
- If your children are minors, who will rear them?
- Are you concerned about your children receiving too much money too soon?
- Are your children capable of managing the money and property they receive?
- Are you worried about alcohol, drugs, gambling or any other types of addiction?
- Do you have a child who receives governmental assistance (i.e. has special needs?)