Taking Your Time with Estate Planning

Sometimes it’s the loss of a loved one or someone in your family being diagnosed with Alzheimers’ that gives you the sign to put ‘estate planning” at the top of your to-do list. But the truth is that it can be dangerous to rush your planning if you’re doing it on your own. Hiring an estate planning attorney helps you by clarifying what’s really important and having another person to review all the details and give you pointers about what might have been left out.

To start with, an inventory of your assets forms the basis for your future estate planning. What do you have? What do you owe? Do these different kinds of assets mean different things for planning your estate?

A will, a power of attorney, and a medical directive are some of the most important documents you should create right away. There’s a good chance that you already know who- or what- needs to go inside those. But if you need additional support, this is a great opportunity to speak with your estate planning lawyer about what those look like.