At some point in your life, you will retire but that can be a challenge for most people and some seniors may never think about it. However, one of the best things you can do is sit down with a lawyer to discuss estate planning for a secure retirement. When you take the time to plan out your retirement and how you want to secure your estate, assets, and benefits you will be able to relax and be stress-free when the time comes. During retirement, most people need to sit down and reevaluate their assets and estate. As you head towards retirement as a senior, taking the time to sit with a lawyer who focuses on estate planning will be crucial to helping you live comfortably throughout your golden years. Here are some things to consider during your first few meetings with a lawyer.
Look Through Your Will
Most seniors will already have an idea of what they want to leave behind for their kids or grandkids, but when you start thinking about a retirement plan or end of life, it is time to redo or write a will. This is a huge part of estate planning and can be one of the first steps to ensure things are set up the way you wish. A last testament is one of the key aspects of estate planning and it is not something you should push off for very long. This will allow you to appoint guardians to children, share how you want your assets distributed, and much more. It is the foundation for a good estate planning session and one of the first things you should think about.
Understand Your Current Estate
You need to know what your current financial situation looks like and how you want it to progress from where you are now. This is something you may need help with and you can get lawyers and banks to help you sort through any money and what assets you have. You will need to look at money in your bank account, properties in your name, investments, retirement accounts, insurance, and all valuable possessions you own. Once you have a firm idea of what you have you can move forward with estate planning. Keep in mind, that it often takes a team of well-trained professionals to help you sort through all of this information so you don’t miss anything.
Plan for Long-Term Care
Whether you want to age in place or a nursing home, this needs to be planned out during the estate planning. You need to think about what kind of long-term care you want and where you want to spend your final days. It can seem too early to do this, but the truth is you need to be prepared and you need to plan so you can decide how you want to spend your end of life. It seems like a morbid thought but you don’t want to end up somewhere that you did not choose.
Think About a Trust
When you set up a trust it can do a lot of things for you and your future family. You will receive asset protection, probate avoidance, and control over the distribution of estate. This can be amazing for you and your family depending on what your finances and assets look like. Keep in mind, you may collect more assets as your life progresses and you can start a trust later in the estate planning process.