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Have you yet to create an estate plan and have finally decided that it is time to do it? If so, it helps to know some basic things to include so that you have all of your bases covered.

Power Of Attorney

Many people assume that an estate plan is just to decide what happens to your belongings after you pass away. However, an estate plan can also include many decisions that need to take place near the end of your life. That is where the power of attorney comes into play. You can make a decision about who will be able to make decisions for you in several key areas. You can pick someone that has your medical power of attorney, meaning that they can make decisions about your medical needs when you are unable to do so. You can also pick someone to have power of attorney over your finances, giving them the ability to spend money on your behalf.

Property Distribution

A big part of your estate plan is going to be deciding on how to distribute property. If you have a large estate with many heirs, this can be quite complicated as you decide who is going to receive your assets. It can also be fairly straight forward, by simply giving everything to a child or spouse. Make sure that property distribution is clearly stated and that all your assets are covered. This can include a general clause stating that remaining assets are given to a specific person.

Charitable Donations

Do you have a charity that you want to donate part of your estate to when you pass away? Now is the time to make sure that those wishes are clear so that others cannot go against what you want to do. You can list specific charities and how much you want to give to them to help avoid any confusion.

Business Decisions

Are you part of a business with other stakeholders? There will likely be questions about what will happen to your portion of the business after you pass away. Your estate plan can lay out plans for succession or who you will transfer your part of the business to. These questions may already be answered in other documents related to the business, but it can help to reiterate them in your estate plan to avoid any confusion. 

Reach out to an estate planning lawyer to help get all of these things into the proper documentation for your estate plan.