Estate Planning Examples

July 26, 2020

Simple Estate Planning Worksheet

While scouring the web for a simple estate planning worksheet, I could find no such thing. All I could find was “sample estate planning worksheet.” And many of those were anything but simple.

I could spend a lot of time here translating forms to a web page, but instead, I think it would be the most helpful if you know what is needed in a planning worksheet. There is not a best format for it. Spreadsheets or documents. Hand written or typed.

Your and your spouse’s personal information. Name, address, phone number, date of birth, date of marriage.
You children’s names and dates of birth. If deceased, date of death. If they are to be disinherited, note that.
How you want your final estate divided.
What you own, what you owe on each item. This is your net worth.
- Life insurance policies.
- Real Estate
- Bank Accounts
- Investment accounts
- Retirement plans
- Anticipated inheritance
- Any other valuable property
Who should raise your minor children if you can’t (if you have any)
If creating a Trust
- Your trustee in case of incapacity
- Your final trustee
If creating a Will
- Your personal representative
Your durable power of attorney agents
Your healthcare power of attorney agents
Everybody you want to be able to talk to healthcare professionals about your condition
And, what treatments you would and would not want in case of coma, permanent vegetative state, or the end is near and the doctors have done all they can.

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July 23, 2020

Estate Planning Definition

One estate planning definition goes something like this:

The process of arranging for the transfer of your property after death.

Wikipedia gets it closer:

Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging, during a person’s life, for the management and disposal of that person’s estate during the person’s life, in the event the person becomes incapacitated and after death (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_planning)

That definition is just one piece of what estate planning is all about. Here is more but perhaps not everything:

Arranging for the orderly transfer of your property
Protecting you during your lifetime
Protecting your family during your lifetime
Protecting your family after you are gone
Protecting your money and affairs while you are living
Ensuring and maintaining privacy of financial and personal affairs
Avoiding probate

These are just the highlights of an estate planning definition. You can probably come up with an even more comprehensive definition with some research.

See Also

What is an Estate Planning?
What is the Difference Between Will and Estate Planning?
What is Estate Planning and Why is it Important?
What Defines an Estate?
Purpose of Estate Planning
Estate Planning vs Will
What is Estate Planning?
Plan Your Estate
Importance of Estate Planning
Estate Planning Examples
Estate Planning Checklist

July 23, 2020

What is an Estate Plan?

What is an estate plan? An estate plan is a process to uncover your goals and wishes then to memorialize them int a set of documents. Estate planning is about more than just writing a Will.

The planning process consists of several steps:

The discovery session or initial consultation. In this meeting, the attorney will work with you to uncover your goals and wishes for a plan.
Homework. You will be sent home with a packet to complete which gives the attorney the information he needs to create the planning documents.
Draft. The attorney will create the documents and capture your wishes and goals on paper.
Review. The attorney will present the important parts of the plan to you for review. This process will continue until all is correct. It is an iterative process. It may take 1 time or it may take more.
Signing. You will meet with the attorney, notary public, and two witnesses to sign all the documents.
Funding. You need to fund your trust if you created one. If you are using a Will, there is other work you may need to do.
Maintenance. No plan is ever complete. From time to time you need to review the plan to make sure it still meets your goals.

As you can see, an estate plan is more than just a Will or a Trust. It takes a lot of time and expertise by a skilled attorney to create a plan that meets your goals.

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July 23, 2020

What is the Difference Between Will and Estate Planning?

It is very important to understand the difference between Will and estate planning!

A Will is just one document in a complete estate plan.

A Will, also known as a Last Will and Testament, is the document that tells the world how you want your final probate estate distributed. This will happen in probate under a Judge’s supervision.

Estate planning is the process of arranging for care and management of you, your family, your money, and other property during your lifetime and beyond. It consists of a process and several documents. The process uncovers your goals and wishes which are then memorialized in documents. Those documents are:

Last Will and Testament
Trust (maybe)
Durable Power of Attorney
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Protected Healthcare Information Release (PHI release or HIPAA Waiver)
Advance Directive (Living Will)

See Also