New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
It’s difficult to accept, but accidents occur every day. In addition to preparing for accidents, it is also a good idea to anticipate events like entering a nursing home. Because an event of this nature is almost a certainty, it is a good idea to take some important estate planning tips to prepare for what lies ahead.
As a result, this article reviews some important strategies that you should remember to implement to make sure that your loved ones have an easier time navigating matters when the unexpected happens.
# 1 – Plan Now, Not Later
If the unexpected occurs and you do not have the estate planning documents in place, your loved ones will be left without guidance on how to act. As a result, you should not hesitate to make sure that these plans are in place. You do not want to leave your loved ones to figure out what decisions you would want to be made. You also do not want the state of New York’s law to determine how matters should be decided.
# 3 – Document Passwords and People
It is critical to make a list of your login details for various digital accounts so your loved ones can handle any matters leftover with your digital accounts. There are many ways in which people choose to store passwords ranging from software applications to handwritten lists. In addition to recording passwords, it is also valuable to write down a list of important people to contact following an emergency. This might include people like financial advisors, lawyers, religious leaders, and loved ones.
# 4 – Be Specific
No matter if you want to be cryogenically frozen or have your ashes scattered on the water it is important to write down your wishes for your loved ones. You should also make sure that your loved ones know your wishes. If you fail to share these wishes, at the very least you should make sure that your wishes are written down in a detailed manner in your estate planning documents.
# 5 – Organize Matters
Once you have all of your plans in place, it is a good idea to handle matters to someone in case the time comes. Regardless of how well your estate planning documents are written, they will do little good if your loved ones are unable to locate them if something happens to you. Estate planning documents will also be of little assistance if your loved ones do not know how to locate these documents.
As a result, it is critical to make sure that your loved ones know where these documents are located and how to access them.
Contact a Knowledgeable Estate Planning Lawyer
Estate planning is one of the best ways for people to take control of the unexpected events that can occur in life. To fully prepare for these events, it is also a wise idea to retain the assistance of an experienced estate planning lawyer.
Contact Ettinger Estate Planning today for assistance.