Downs Law Firm, P.C.
At such an emotional time, more paperwork is probably the last thing you want on your to-do list. However, taking a few key steps is critical to your financial future.
Even those who have saved and invested well may not be sharing their financial information with a spouse or loved one. It’s time to do that now.
Would your loved ones have necessary access to your bank accounts after you die to help carry out your last wishes and handle arrangements?
There are many stories of strange conditions in wills and trusts over time. For example, the German poet Heinrich ‘Henry’ Heine died in 1856 and left his estate to his wife, Matilda, on the condition that she remarry, so that ‘there will be at least one man to regret my death’.
Whatever the reason, whether your life is a bed of roses or a getting-worse-nightmare, there are things you can do now to insure what you leave will go to who you want. And when. And in what portion or portions.
In fact, many couples with no children mistakenly believe that they are less likely to need a last will and testament than couples with children.
This legal document can also be beneficial in many situations, such as if you want to leave an inheritance to someone but aren’t sure they will use the gift wisely.
Beneficiaries, in general, are people or entities that the holder of an account designates to receive the assets in the account, typically, in the event of the account holder’s death.
Some people think that, because their assets are jointly owned with a spouse or are in a trust, they do not need a Power of Attorney, or that if they become incapacitated, their spouse automatically has the authority to make medical decisions on their behalf.
If you don’t have a spouse and children, you might not think you need to do any estate planning—but that’s not the case.
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