Don’t Make These Mistakes in Your Estate Plan

You may be somebody who is fully aware of the importance of estate planning and is eager to get a plan put in place. Whether you are about to begin, or you have already worked your whole life to achieve financial and personal success, you want to take care of your property and heirs when you are gone. One thing you do not want to have happen is making a mistake that can easily compromise the inheritance for your beneficiaries.

The good news is that mistakes in estate planning can be avoided if you take the proper precautions. Here are some things you should avoid in your estate planning that can either cost you money to fix or will affect the amount in inheritance to your children.

Choosing the Wrong Executor

When it comes to choosing an executor, the selection should be someone in your family you are close with or a friend you find to be extremely trustworthy. Regardless if it is a friend or family member, this person should possess honesty and integrity and have your best interest at heart when handling the duties of your final wishes.

Beneficiary Designation

Are you sure that your children or other beneficiaries can handle receiving a large sum of money or property at one time? Do you have family members who do not trust one of your beneficiaries and believe they will mis-handle what they receive? If either of these things are a concern, you may want to choose to put the money in a trust and let someone else determine the distribution of the funds to each beneficiary.

Failing to Update

An estate plan is not something you do one time and then never go back to again. As your life changes, so should your plan. Marriages, divorces, kids, grandchildren, employment and any other significant updates to your life should be accommodated in your estate plan. Maybe you became the beneficiary of a will, does your estate plan take into consideration this new-found fortune? You should plan to update your estate plan after any of these major changes in your life or at least once a year.

The success of your estate plan after it is completed is to make sure you avoid any mistakes that keep any family or friends unprotected. When you speak with an estate planning specialist, take the necessary time and ask enough questions to ensure you have done your best to keep errors from creeping in.