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Include provisions for incapacitation in your estate plan
For many high-worth individuals in Texas, determining how to leave your wealth to your beneficiaries can be complicated. One aspect that people tend to overlook is planning for incapacitation should you become ill and unable to make decisions for yourself. Planning for incapacitation is just as important as the other aspects of managing your estate.
Steps in Planning for Incapacitation
You may think that a will or a trust are the only documents you need for estate planning purposes. However, those documents won’t help you in the present if you are unable to make decisions for yourself. You’ll want to ensure that care for dependents and the orderly management of your wealth occurs if you are incapacitated for any reason and unable to make decisions. You should also stipulate end-of-life wishes if you end up in a vegetative state.
The importance of estate planning for parents of young children
If you have young children and prefer not to think about planning for their well-being after your death, you are not alone. Many parents in Texas avoid this topic, but it is important to create an estate plan to ensure that your children get the very best care if something happens to you.
Your children
For a parent, one of the most important functions of a will is to name a guardian for the children. This is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to make sure your children will be in the care of someone you have chosen. If you do not choose a guardian, the court process to appoint one can be long and stressful.
You may also want to consider both a life insurance policy and a trust so that your children are cared for. A trust may not be the right choice for every family, but it can mean that your children receive assets at the time and in the way that you want.
Have you written down your preferences about medical care?
If you experience a significant medical event, your family members may be the ones who have to make decisions about your medical care. After a car crash, a stroke or even a heart attack, you may not be able to make your own decisions about the care that you need.
Your spouse or even your children may have to make those decisions on your behalf because you are unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. Although you may have spoken about your wishes in the past, it’s likely that your family members will struggle to recall every term you set during a stressful time.
Have you committed your medical preferences to writing yet?
There are many decisions to make about modern medical care
Advances in modern medicine mean that there are more treatment and therapy options than ever before. Some medical treatments might violate certain people’s religious beliefs. Other individuals past a certain age or with lifelong medical conditions may want less intensive intervention if they have a sudden medical event.
Valuable assets leave your loved ones vulnerable to estate taxes
Maybe you ran a ranch for most of your life and have hundreds of acres of land and thousands of animals that you will leave to a loved one. Perhaps you have valuable real estate holdings, substantial personal investments or a business.
Being able to leave highly valuable property to your loved ones can be a source of comfort and security for those people as they grieve after you die and a source of pride for you in your golden years. Unfortunately, the more valuable your property, the more likely it is that your family and loved ones won’t receive the full value of those assets unless you plan carefully.
Estate taxes impact how much you leave behind and can drastically diminish the value of your estate if you don’t plan for them ahead of time.
Texans only have to worry about federal estate taxes
There is a noteworthy number of states that apply their own, secondary estate tax to the estates of residents when they die. Thankfully, Texas is not among them.
Updating an estate plan is an important thing to do
Updating an estate plan is an important thing to do. As life changes, an estate plan should also change with the estate planner’s life. Knowing just went to update an estate plan is key for estate planners to be familiar with.
Estate plans should be routinely updated and reviewed but in addition to that, there are certain instances in life when estate planners should always take time to review and update their estate plan. These times include:
- If the estate planner has experienced a major relationship change – if the estate planner’s relationships change, they should ensure their estate plan incorporates those changes. This can include a marriage, death, divorce or birth for the estate planner.
- If the estate planner has completed a major move or relocation to another state – if the estate planner moves to another state, they need to ensure that their estate plan complies with the laws of their new state.
How can I plan for incapacity for myself or my loved one?
Estate planning documents can help estate planners plan for medical incapacity and financial incapacity. It is important to plan for circumstances if an estate planner becomes unable to direct their own medical and financial affairs to help alleviate the burden that may be felt by loved ones and the estate planner themselves and estate planning can help. Following are some of the important estate planning documents to help estate planners plan for incapacity.
Advance healthcare directive or living will
An advance healthcare directive, sometimes referred to as a living will, outlines the medical care and treatment the estate planner wishes to receive. It outlines quality of life concerns and medical treatments the estate planner does, and does not, wish to receive and will also address other concerns such as resuscitation including a do not resuscitate order.
3 Benefits of including a trust in your estate plan
Estate plans contain several different important documents, each designed to ensure that your estate is secure and your family’s future and legacy is in good hands. While many people use wills to list their assets and inheritors, trusts can be just as effective.
If you are considering using a trust in your estate plan, here are just three benefits that come with creating a trust.
Avoid probate
When you leave your assets in a will, each item must go through probate court. Probate can last months, and the costs can add up quickly. In addition, probate can cause undue stress on your family members. It can sometimes even leave space for family disputes and tension.
Assets in a trust, on the other hand, can skip probate altogether and go straight to the beneficiaries, saving your family time and money. You might consider placing more valuable items in a trust, like life insurance, real estate and savings accounts.
3 estate planning tips for young families
With a new baby and a bright future ahead, estate planning is likely one of the last things on your mind. However, this is actually one of the most crucial times to think about what will happen when you die. You’re a provider, and you need to have a plan in place to support your dependents.
As a parent, you don’t want to leave your spouse or your child to deal with the complicated process of probate or to make decisions while grieving. The best thing you can do for your family is to plan in advance.
Key considerations for young estate planners
- Choose a guardian for your child. You and your spouse, if you have one, will need to make provisions for your child in the event of one or both of your deaths. This is a very important decision, and you should make sure to consider carefully. Does this person share your values? Does your child know them? Has the individual given consent? Be careful not to choose someone too young or too advanced in age. You want this individual to be available to take on the responsibility whenever necessary.
Why do I need an advance healthcare directive?
It may feel uncomfortable for you to think about the medical care you may need in the future. But as you start the process of estate planning, you will want to include directions for your healthcare. An advance healthcare directive lets you choose your medical care. It gives your loved ones instructions if you can no longer communicate.
Texas provides a few different documents for advance directives:
- Living will – In Texas, this is also called “Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates Form.” A living will contains your wishes for medical treatment. If you are unable to communicate your wishes due to illness or injury, a living will lets your family and doctors know what you want.
- Medical power of attorney – With a medical power of attorney, you choose a healthcare proxy to make healthcare decisions for you. This healthcare proxy is usually a trusted family member or friend. If you are unable to communicate, your healthcare proxy makes any medical decisions on your behalf.
Should you share the details of your will?
A will is chock-full of intensely private information. You’ll discuss all of your wishes in it, including who should oversee your finances, which assets you will pass on to whom and what to do if you should need life support at some point.
But the reason for writing these preferences is so that others will know them when the time comes. So, doesn’t it make sense to share the details of your will before you’re gone?
Wills are a matter of public record
One important thing to remember is that wills are a matter of public record. Upon your passing, anyone from the general public will be allowed access to the details of your will.
While you may not be around to witness this, it’s good to keep in mind that the decisions you make in your will are going to be shared at some point in time.
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