Some people can tell their grown children anything. That’s their relationship and their comfort level around life and money.

Some adults can help their parent(s) formulate an aging plan, but others really want to help by controlling the task and don’t realize that it may create unnecessary conflict, both with the parent(s), and even with other immediate family and beyond.

If you don’t want to cause family conflict, it can be helpful to have an unrelated, business-like adult to help put an outline of your plan together. I wish that people would do this with their estate attorney, but I realize that not everyone is quite ready for that.

You may need to think it through a bit. Decide who you want making medical and financial decisions if you are unable. Who would care for dependents and how that would be financed. If you may need care, is long-term care insurance a possibility? Make some lists of assets and who they would go to.

Don’t wait too long as you need to get the paperwork done to solidify these plans. Sure, the State of Texas has some really helpful documents that you could use. You can view them on the Texas State Law Library website. https://guides.sll.texas.gov

You can view Texas Long Term Care Insurance at https://www.tdi.texas.gov/consumer/hicap/hicapltc05.html

BUT, you are going to want to get the advice of an excellent will and trust attorney to augment your plan,g ive you situation specific advice and draw up your documents.

If you do need another adult to chat with, or an attorney recommendation, feel free to call. I’m sure that I can help.

Here’s what you could do TODAY to make things easier for your Heirs while you are getting organized to talk to an Attorney* or saving up funds for your will or trust:

1. 1. Go online with all of your Bank and Brokerage accounts. Write a list of all of those Bank and Brokerage accounts and make sure that you have Beneficiaries and contingent Beneficiaries listed for each one.  Put something down on Beneficiary Designation form or this money just goes through Probate and is subject to those Probate expenses and delays. If you don’t have the necessary Social Security numbers for the Beneficiaries, you can come back and do this. Your goal is to have a Beneficiary and a contingent Beneficiary for each account.
   2. Do the same for any life insurance policies. A surprising number of people don’t know that they have a life insurance policy, but check with your employer. You may have set one up with your most recent job, and it may be in force.
   3. Get together all of your real estate documents, so that your Attorney can see how the Title is held.
   4. If you have minor children or other family members for whom you need or want to provide for beyond today, make a list with their names and social security numbers. Remember, anyone who is not yet 18 or who is unable to care for themselves or their money, will need a competent adult, referred to as a Guardian in the State of Texas, to manage their funds. Be  thinking about both a Guardian, and a contingent Guardian, or two.
      
      *Please remember that I am not an Attorney and cannot give legal advice. I can connect you with an excellent Attorney who can give you all of the advice that you need that is specific to your situation, plus set up your documents to make life more peaceful for you and easier for your Heirs

I’m a big believer in planning for the future. There is  more to the future than retirement and who knows what those future life adventures may hold for you? I don’t understand why more people don’t get to exploring their future finances. It’s easy.

There are a lot of planning features associated with accounts that you may already have. Let’s say that you have a 401(k). You should be able to access the company where that account(s) is held and do some retirement planning from there. You don’t have a retirement account yet? There are plenty of budgeting apps that can get moved along to your next step.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what would happen if you:

1. Purchased a primary residence.
2. Committed to saving monthly for down payment for an investment property or a business.
3. Funded your retirement account every year.

Please give it a try and see how much fun future planning can be.

I am a Certified Probate Expert and I am going to tell you the number one way to make Probate easier:

AVOID IT

You can get a Trust set up with a great Estate and Probate Attorney and fund the Trust with your assets for which you cannot name a Beneficiary and distribute those assets directly. It’s easy and affordable. It does take some planning and an appointment, but you can make a start.

Although I think that the Internet is a wonderful jumping off point for getting a little information, I believe the there is no substitute for meeting with an Attorney who specializes in wills, trusts, and estate planning. This is one of those areas where you really require expert guidance from someone who can not only help you put together your plan, but implement it. 

Need a great Estate Attorney in the Great State of Texas? I can help you with that.