Everyone wants to have a good day, and at the beginning of the year, everyone wanted to have a good 2019. We all want more than that, however. People want a good retirement and a good, long life. But many people stop there, when in reality they can have more, including a good end of life.
Estate planning is about putting in place a strategy to manage end-of-life risks and making arrangements for your assets and family for when you’re gone.
Just about everyone is uncomfortable to some degree thinking about long-term care and death, but our discomfort or fear won’t stave off the inevitable. Sometimes people put an estate plan into place after they experience a health scare, and sometimes they wait too long, which means their loved ones will have to deal with the time and expense of Florida probate.
Let’s take a quick look at some common estate planning mistakes people make and suggestions for how to avoid them:
- Not having a plan: in many cases, this means there’s no will or trust in place, and in other cases, it means there’s a barebones plan with little thought put into it. Without an estate plan, the probate process will make decisions for you, determining which assets will go to whom. Suggested fix: sit down with a Brevard County estate planning attorney and set up an end-of-life plan that addresses future health care needs, your assets and your loved ones.
- Out-of-date estate plan: it’s not enough to simply have a plan – it’s important to have a plan that you updated after major life events when families or goals are rearranged.
- Failing to plan for disability and long-term care: an estate plan should not only take care of your loved ones, but also address your future health and care needs. Suggestion: discuss with your attorney a living trust, health care directive and similar estate planning tools.
An experienced, knowledgeable estate planning lawyer can help you address these issues and more so that you and your family are ready for what comes.