The 8 Essentials Parts to a Comprehensive Estate Plan

by Jenny Ling, Esq.

When many people think of estate plans, they think of signing a Will and not thinking of it again for the rest of their lives.  However, this is not an effective approach if you want to ensure that your estate plan will actually work for your family when you need it.  At The Law Offices of Jenny Ling, PLLC, we take a comprehensive approach to estate planning.  Here are the 8 essentials parts to a comprehensive estate plan.

1.  Will

Everyone, no matter their age or wealth, has an estate.  Your estate is comprised of everything you own – your car, your home, other real estate, checking and savings accounts, investments, life insurance, retirement, and personal possessions.  No matter how large or small, everyone has an estate and needs to make a plan for it.

Without a plan in place, Washington’s intestate successions laws will determine who is entitled to your property.  This means that the law, not you, will decide who will receive your assets.

Every estate plan includes a will.  A will determines who will manage your estate after you pass, where you want your possessions distributed, and if you have minor children, who will care for them.

2.  Trust

A Trust is a method for transferring a person’s estate and enables a person to avoid probate.  A trust agreement sets out how a person’s assets are to be managed during their life and distributed upon their death.  After a person sets up a revocable living trust, they transfer assets to their trust, which they control.  Upon death, there is nothing for the courts to control because the trust owns the assets.  The trust is revocable, which means that during one’s lifetime, a person can change the terms of the trust or even terminate it.  The concept is simple, but this is what keeps you and your family out of the courts.

Not every person needs a trust.  An experienced estate planning attorney can help you determine if your estate planning goals and objectives require a trust.  There are a few special circumstances where a trust is the only way to protect your family:  if you want to leave assets to a child with special needs, if you have a family member who is addicted to drugs, if you own out-of-state property, or if you are at risk of owing estate taxes.

3.  Powers of Attorney

A comprehensive estate plan makes a plan not just for your death, but also your potential incapacity.  Incapacity can be temporary – you are expected to recover eventually; or it can be the start of a long event that ends in your death.  Incapacity can last for many years and if you do not make a plan, your family may need to go to court to help make financial and health care decisions for you.

You should ask yourself, “If I am ever incapacitated and can’t make my own decisions, who do I want making decisions on my behalf”?  You will need powers of attorney for financial matters as well as health care decision making.

4.  Healthcare Directive

A Healthcare Directive, sometimes called a living will, is a “will” for medical affairs.  It is a document that lets your doctor know the kind of life support treatment you would want in case of terminal illness or injury, in the event you cannot otherwise communicate your wishes.  Absent this document, healthcare providers will rely on family members to make end-of-life decisions for you.  Families are often haunted by having to make medical decisions without knowing their loved one’s wishes.  This document provides your loved ones with a road map for what you want your care to look like.

5.  Beneficiary Designations.

For certain assets (like retirement, life insurance, and bank accounts), a beneficiary designation could be used to leave the asset to a loved one.  However, it can be more complicated when the beneficiary is a minor or has special needs.  A comprehensive plan can ensure the assets are distributed according to your wishes.

6.  Child Protection Plan

At The Law Offices of Jenny Ling, PLLC, we offer a Child Protection Plan in all of our comprehensive estate plans for families with minor children.  A Child Protection Plan ensures that your children will be protected in both the short and long term and provides for their financial well-being if you are not around.  Our Child Protection Plan also helps you give guidance to your children’s guardians about your values and parenting style.  You can even make a list of people that you would like to be in your child’s life, even if you are not there to facilitate that relationship.

7.  Inventory of Your Assets

More than $58 billion is sitting in the departments of unclaimed property around the country here in the U.S.  Most of that got there when people did not know what to look for after their loved ones died and the assets were sent to the state to hold.  As part of our comprehensive estate plans, we help you create an Asset Inventory Spreadsheet so that your family knows exactly what assets you hold and nothing is lost to the Unclaimed Property Division at the Washington State Department of Revenue.

8.  Estate Plan Review

An estate plan that is out of date can put you and your family at risk.  You spent the time and effort needed to create an estate plan that will protect your family – make sure it can grow with your family.  All of our comprehensive estate plans come with a complimentary 3-year review so that you can ensure that your estate plan reflects the family you have now.

Comprehensive estate planning is planning for your family’s future.  At The Law Offices of Jenny Ling, PLLC, we can help you create a plan that handles your assets in the exact manner you wish, taking into account all of your family’s dynamics, so your death or incapacity won’t be any more painful or expensive for your family than it needs to be.  We offer flat-fee, customizable plans that fit your life so you can be certain that your family is taken care of, and that there is no question what your wishes are.

If you are ready to make a comprehensive estate plan, Contact Us our offices to schedule your complimentary 15-minute phone consultation and Make a Plan!

Jenny Ling is a partner at the Law Offices of Jenny Ling, PLLC.  She focuses her practices on estate planning, business succession planning, business and bankruptcy.