The moment that you become a legal adult is perhaps the best time to start thinking about estate planning. At this point, your parents are no longer authorized to make decisions for you while incapacitated. Furthermore, assets such as an Indiana home that you accumulate are now held in your name, which means that you’ll need a will or trust to account for them.
Don’t forget about your kids
Ideally, you’ll create a will or trust as soon as your children are born. If you already have such a document, you should update it to ensure that your kids have the resources needed to thrive if you die or become incapacitated. Both wills and trusts allow you to name guardians for your children, and they can also make it easier to transfer assets to your kids.
Other issues to consider
Creating a trust may make it easier to make gifts to children, grandchildren or your favorite charity. Making gifts during your lifetime may reduce the value of your estate for tax purposes, which may maximize the impact of your generosity. A trust may also be ideal if you want to keep the terms of your estate plan private. If you don’t have a trust, you should consider adding a financial agent to your plan to ensure that someone is available to manage your money when you cannot do so yourself.
Creating a comprehensive estate plan may make it easier to ensure that you don’t fall behind on bills or have to cede assets in the event that you become ill or die. A quality estate plan may also prevent family infighting or other issues that might arise if you don’t have a valid will or trust.
