Estate Planning

64% of Americans don't have an estate plan. Individuals put off estate planning because they think they don't have enough assest. Your estate is comprised of everything you own. No matter how larger or modest, everyone has an estate that should be protected. Do you want a say in what will happen to everything you own after you die? Do you want to prevent your family from fighting over your assets? If so, then you need an estate plan -- no matter how much or how littile you have. Estate planning can also determine who will make decisions about your health and finances if you become legally incapacitated while you're alive. The key components of a comprehensive estate plan include:

Beneficiary designations

Who do you want to inherit the balance after you die?

Wills

A will is a document that states who you want to receive your assests and, if you have children, who you want to become their guardians. It also states who should carry out your wishes, a role called executor of the estate.

Living trusts

When you create a trust and place assets into it, such as your home those assets become the legal property of the trust.  As a result,  when you die, those assets don't have to go through a probate court proceeding. Instead, the successor trustee of your trust distributes the assets within it according to your wishes. The process is designed to be quick, inexpensive, and private, though there may still be accountant and attorney fees to settle the estate and the process may still  take a few months.

Durable powers of attorney for finance and health care

A financial power of attorney allows someone to make financial decisions while you're alive if you become unable to. For example, if you're in the hospital in a coma, this person could make gifts, pay your mortgage, property taxes, and other bills on your behalf using your money. A health care power of attorney authorizes someone of your choosing to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become physically or mentally unable to make those decisions for yourselt. It's important to choose as your agent someone who is strong enough to carry out your wishes even when they might be getting pressured to make different decisions. 

Advance health care directives

An advance health care directive or living will lays out your wishes for life-sustaining medical treatment (including your wishes not to receive such treatment). For example, you could use this document to state whether you would want to be placed on a respirator if you couldn't breathe on your own.