As our clients know, we use MoneyGuidePro (MGP) as our financial planning software tool and we generally review our clients’ particular plan with updates when we meet. This allows us the opportunity to discuss any changes in their lives, perhaps an upcoming life event, like retirement, or a new goal, like starting a 529 for a grandchild. We help to analyze all of the “known” factors and make some assumptions about the future, including when your time on earth may end. MGP euphemistically refers to this as the “plan end”, or in other words, the time when these variables, assets and concerns will no longer be yours!
Here is where good estate planning comes into play. At DWM, we think it is important to help you with the preparation for the end of your life, as well as your legacy after. We aren’t lawyers, but we work with some trusted estate attorneys and can use experienced insights and knowledge of your financial world to make sure that all of your wishes are properly addressed. We have helped many of our clients in this way, as well as many of their extended family members. We offer to carefully review your existing wills or trust in an effort to make sure your asset distributions and beneficiary designations are how you want them. We like to provide our own CliffsNotes version in a summarized Estate Flow for your convenience. If things need updating, we can make some recommendations on how and also on who can help you with the legal paperwork and advice.
We also review all of your estate plan ancillary documents that discuss your end-of-life plan. These include the Health Care Power of Attorney (HCPOA), which designates an agent to represent you on health care decisions, the Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA), which designates a financial, legal and business representative on your behalf and the Living Will, which essentially outlines your care wishes in the event of incapacitation or when you can’t speak for yourself. Many of our clients come in not understanding how vitally important these documents can be for you and your family to have in place BEFORE there is a reason to need them! These documents are also state-specific and must be updated or kept current for where you spend time, either in a primary or secondary residence. Every situation is different – a terminal diagnosis may give you time to determine the answers for these questions and to generally get your affairs in order. However, a sudden, unexpected incident, especially for a younger person, can leave the people you love with decisions and demands that may be overwhelming.
An article in the WSJ recently talked about this issue of “Preparing for a good end of life”. Planning ahead and talking to your loved ones is important for everyone’s peace of mind. There are some fundamental pieces that should be considered to have a good plan ready. As the WSJ writer recommends, “Imagine what it would take to die in peace and work back from there.” This might include where you want to be and how you will manage the financial and physical obligation of your end-of-life. Would you want to be at home and perhaps have in-home care? Would you rather allow for in-patient hospice treatment so there is less demand on your family? The WSJ references a 2017 Kaiser Foundation study that suggests most people care much more about the burden on their families, both financially and emotionally, than about extending their own life.
The Living Will and HCPOA allow you to specify what kind of medical attention you want during a serious medical event or terminal situation. Will you want to be kept alive artificially while being treated so you can live as long as possible? These documents allow you to determine who will be your representative on these matters and what decisions for your care that you make ahead of time or ask that your representative decide for you. In some cases, the right choice might be someone more neutral than a close family member, as their judgement may be emotionally clouded. Either way, it allows you to make decisions now that will offer a guideline to follow for those who love you. Having these conversations ahead of time about who will make decisions and how you wish to be cared for will hopefully bring solace to your loved ones, as well as relieve any stress for you by knowing that this is in order.
It is also important to ensure that all of your legal affairs are in order. Make sure that all of your bequests to others and the timing for them to receive them are kept up to date. It is also important to make sure deeds and the beneficiary designations on other assets are current and titled the way you want them, whether in a trust to avoid probate or with named beneficiaries to make your wishes clear. Make sure to keep life insurance policy information in a safe place and the beneficiary designations current. Also, safely store a list of all important financial documents and social media passwords in at least one place to make it easier for your personal representative(s) to tie up your affairs. Prepare a business succession plan and keep all the documents current. Don’t put off assigning items of sentimental or financial value to those you want to receive them. Many people are now even planning their own memorial services and writing their own obituaries to lessen the obligation and make sure everything is how you would like it. We are happy to help you store some of these financial documents in our secure “vault” in our DWM cloud.
We may have all experienced or know about situations where no planning was in place or updates to wills, titles and/or beneficiary designations were missing or outdated. Your family and friends will be dealing with tremendous grief during this time, so making these preparations ahead of time will allow both you and them some comfort when it’s time. While it may be hard to have these conversations and make these decisions, it will certainly make it easier for everyone in the long run.
Please let us know if we can help you get these affairs in order. At DWM, we are always happy to help bring peace of mind to our clients and their families.