Estate Planning and Peace of Mind

Preparing your estate plan may not be the first item on your list of things to do to unwind.  But getting your estate planning done, may quiet that nagging voice in the back of your head that sometimes says, “What happens if?” Beyond the legal implications, having a comprehensive estate plan provides peace of mind.

Your concern about who will get your house or your grandmother’s wedding ring, or your father’s military service medals, will be gone, clearly articulated in your Last Will and Testament.  The worries about what will happen to you if you can’t make health care decisions for yourself, gone; the decisions spelled out in your advance health care directive. Thoughts about who will pay your bills if are unable to: dictated by the power of attorney for finances.

Peace of mind will be achieved.

So why don’t people have an estate plan? Why do we have potential clients, sometimes into their 90’s, sometimes already dealing with serious health issues, come in to our office on a nearly weekly basis with no will, no power of attorney, and no advance health care directive in place?

Often times the issue is mental. For many people, the most difficult part of estate planning is that in order to have peace of mind, you have to face your mortality. It is often easier to ignore the fact that you will die (death and taxes: the only two certainties in life) then to take the active steps to have peace of mind when the time comes.

This mental aspect to estate planning prohibits many people from ever putting a plan in place.  They ignore the concerns associated with not having an estate plan and, therefore, never have peace of mind.   So how do you get around this mental hurdle?

Think about life and living.  Think about providing a roadmap to your children, other family members and friends; showing them how you want to be cared for when you can no longer take care of yourself.  Provide clear instructions of where and to whom you want your property to go. Give them the peace of mind that they will make the right decisions because you have left them a clear and comprehensive idea of how you would like things to be handled, even if you are no longer capable of making articulating those decisions for yourself.

Because when you do a comprehensive estate plan, you’re not just giving yourself peace of mind, your providing peace of mind to the rest of your family, friends and loved ones. To help you get over the mental hurdles and provide you with peace of mind, take the first step and contact our office to schedule your initial appointment.

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