Reasons Everyone Should Have a Living Will

In uncertain times, it's critical to consider how your loved ones would handle your end-of-life decisions. Creating a living will provides clarity and peace of mind that your wishes are known and followed during difficult moments.

A living will can cover medical treatment, estate planning, and everything in between. We'll explore the reasons everyone should have a living will.

Ensures Your Medical Wishes Are Met

Making decisions about your own medical care can be difficult, especially as you age or face serious conditions. Drafting a living will can ensure your medical wishes are respected and carried out in critical situations. 

This legal document outlines your medical treatment preferences if you cannot communicate. It gives clear guidance to healthcare professionals and family members. 

For example, if you do not wish to be kept on life support, your living will reflects this wish and ensures healthcare providers know how to care for you. 

This document provides peace of mind and a sense of control over your medical care, ensuring your voice is heard even if you cannot speak.

Controls Financial Decisions After Death

The thought of mortality can be uncomfortable, but it is important to plan for the future to ensure your wishes are carried out after you pass. 

Creating a living will is one way to control financial decisions after death. This legal document ensures your assets and belongings are distributed according to your wishes and can prevent potential conflicts between family members. 

Having a clear plan for your estate is important, and a living will is an effective tool to ensure your legacy is carried out as you intended. 

Remember, it's never too early to start planning for the future, and there are many benefits of end-of-life planning.

Provides Clarity and Closure to Loved Ones

No one wants to imagine scenarios where they can no longer make choices for themselves. However, a living will can provide peace of mind for you and clarity for your loved ones in the event of your passing. 

By explicitly outlining your preferences for medical treatment, end-of-life care, and organ donation, a living will can ensure your wishes are respected, even if you cannot communicate them yourself.

Making these choices ahead of time can alleviate the burden of decision-making from your family members during a time of grief and mourning. While no one can predict the future, a living will provide important closure and comfort for you and your loved ones.

Now that you know why it's important for everyone to have a living will, you can start planning yours today. As challenging as it might be to create this document now, putting it together can provide many benefits throughout life and after death. 

Your legacy is yours to choose: show your loved ones you care by creating a meaningful living will for yourself today.

4 Familial Factors to Consider When Creating an Estate Plan

Everyone with valuable assets and property should have an estate plan that is up to date and keeps your family members in mind.

While a last will and testament might seem straightforward, questions and confusion can arise if things are not spelled out in detail. 

Here are some important considerations that should not be overlooked.

Children

Your children might inherit equal parts of your estate if that is what you wish. However, if you plan to distribute your assets differently, that needs to be specified clearly. 

Also, if one of your children happens to pass away before you do, you will need to determine what will happen to their share portion of the estate. You should also address potential questions about foster children, step-children, and underage children. 

In addition, your estate plan should indicate whether surviving parents, siblings or other extended family relatives will inherit anything from your estate. Don't assume that a verbal suggestion made now will be followed later.

Pets

Although it may seem peculiar to consider your pet's needs when you pass on, someone will need to assume responsibility for any animals you own at that time. 

A surviving spouse might care for them if they are in good health. However, lacking a spouse or another family member who has agreed to care for the pets, your will should state who should care for the pets or where they will go.

Separation or Divorce

If you remain separated or divorced for the rest of your life, the estate plan should clarify whether any family-held possessions, such as a car or real estate, will be given to the surviving ex-spouse. 

Some family heirlooms acquired during the marriage might be of interest to an ex-partner while any children may have no interest in these things. Specify this in your will to prevent tensions when the time comes.

Make an Estate Plan

Don't wait to prepare your estate plan. Consult estate lawyers who can provide valuable information and help you make important decisions about your last will and testament, a power of attorney if warranted, and a living will. 

Your loved ones need to know who will make critical life decisions if you are unable to. They also want to know who will administer your estate when you pass away. 

An estate plan will prepare your wishes in a legal format that cannot be questioned or changed without your consent.

Although these issues may seem difficult to deal with now, it is best to work out your future plans while you are healthy and under no pressure to do so. 

That approach makes it easier to remain objective about your decisions and to prepare family members for the time of your passing.

Estate and Tax Planning: Where to Get Started

Estate planning isn't just for the super-rich. Almost everyone has an estate, whether large or small. Your estate includes personal items such as cars, property, jewelry, bank accounts, and investments. 

But estate and tax planning are more than just protecting your assets. It's about preparing for illness, disability, passing on, and planning for your heir's future.

Tax and estate planning can be a complicated road to travel, and it can be daunting knowing where to start. Here are a few tips on where to get started with estate and tax planning.

What is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is making a plan in advance and taking steps by naming the people, charities, or organizations you want to receive your assets after you die. Estate planning makes it easier for your wishes to be carried out at a later date.

What is Tax Planning?

Tax planning involves taking a hard look at your financial situation to reduce your tax liability. Tax planning is crucial to estate planning because your taxes can have a significant impact on how much you pass to your heirs after you die.

There are three related federal transfer taxes: gift tax, generation-skipping tax, and estate tax. Depending on the value of your estate, all of these taxes can affect the amount you leave your beneficiaries. You must use professional tax planning to ensure your beneficiaries are well cared for after you pass on.

Getting Started With Estate and Tax Planning

Your estate planning will change as your needs, financial situation, and family change. From the time you become a legal adult, start working, accumulating assets and investments, you should begin your estate and tax planning. Use these steps to get started.

Up-to-date Beneficiary Designations

Even if you're single and early in your career, you need to designate a beneficiary for your 401(k) and life insurance policy. Update your beneficiaries as your life changes and your family grows.

Health Care Proxy

A health care proxy allows someone to make health care decisions on your behalf if you can't do so yourself.

A Living Will

A living will allows you to leave instructions for the end-of-life treatment, such as non-resuscitation or life-sustaining treatment.

Durable Power of Attorney

A durable power of attorney allows someone else to make financial decisions on your behalf.

A Will

If you're early in your career and have no assets, you may not need a will, but a will is crucial when you own a home or other properties where you don't have a beneficiary named. Finding the right will lawyer who understands your particular issues can put you in a good place so you won't be stressed or worried.

Guardian for Your Children

It's essential to your estate planning to appoint a guardian for your children if both parents die or if you're a single parent with sole custody.

It's never too early or too late to begin estate and tax planning. Using an attorney who offers innovative solutions for tax and estate planning is the best way to secure your family's future after you pass on.

Contest a Will - Help and Advice

Many people are unaware about the grounds that make a Will valid under the law. Here we give help and advice for contesting a Will.

What is a valid Will?

It is a Will made by an individual above the age of eighteen and he/she is mentally capable as well as fully aware of the decisions he/she were making and the consequences of their actions. Persons should seek legal help and advice before making a Will because this is to make the Will more valid than by doing it themselves. A valid Will is that written with no undue influence from anyone and the provisions made by the document must begin with the instigation of the testator. The testator must sign the Will and 2 people who are not beneficiaries are required to sign as witnesses. More than just signing, the witnesses must be convinced with the validity of the Will and they must be happy to sign against the fact. In cases of assigning guardian for children, it must be dated. 

What is an invalid Will?

There are many situations where a Will is invalid and people can go for contesting it. If the Will does not meet the necessary conditions as per law, then there are grounds for challenging a Will. If it has not been signed by the late person and did not include 2 witnesses, then the Will can be considered invalid. Likewise, if you can prove that the testator was not of sound mind at the time of making the Will, then you can contest it. 

Cancelling a Will

Testator of a Will is authorized to cancel the Will at a future date if he/she wants to change the provisions included within the Will. However, it must be fully his or her, own idea to do so and the proper procedure must be completed to ensure that the former Will is no longer in use. Generally, a Will is canceled when a person gets married or entered to a civil partnership. Under this ground, a new Will needs to be made.

Keep in mind that people have the right of choice and are allowed to leave their asset to whomever they want. Close to the dead person does not mean that you are eligible to his/her inheritance unless you were financially dependent on him/her. If you were financially dependent on the dead person and you have been left out when making the Will, then you have the right grounds to contest the Will. In other way, the only cause for contesting a Will is when it is expressly invalid.

A will is an official document declaring the wishes of the testator to beneficiaries. People who believe that the Will was not made as per deceased’s legal rights or as per the actual wishes can contest the Will’s validity. There is a time frame determined by the government of law of countries to contest the Will. This can be 6 months from the reading of the Will or 6 months from grounds that proposes the Will is invalid and this is depending on the country.

Author bio: Gloria is an expert in writing law and finance articles online. She has worked for many businesses, firms, and agencies and has supplied them with her good writing services. She has submitted a white paper recently on topic – “can I contest a will”. She currently resides in Montana and is happy with her husband and young kid and uses Wikipedia's definition on Wills.