Speaking openly with your children about the sensitive topics related to your estate planning and retirement plans can be difficult. After all, your estate plan is an intensively private matter. However, discussing these matters with your children may prevent confusion and resentment in the future. Over the next few articles, we will discuss six reasons why sharing your estate plan with your children may be a good idea. Here are reasons Five and Six:
- Long Term Care and Nursing Home Costs. A good estate plan should include tools for you and your family to deal with the cost of long term care or a nursing home. Nothing brings on more fear or stress than when a child sees the first $10,000 bill for a month in a nursing home. By meeting with a qualified elder law attorney and discussing ways to protect and preserve assets, you will feel better about your ability to deal with long term care and nursing home issues (should they arise). It is imperative, however, that your children know you have addressed this issue with your attorney and what role they will play in protecting and preserving assets should you or your spouse encounter long term care issues. This is a talk the children should certainly appreciate.
- Organization. We see it happen every week. A child brings in a parent’s estate planning binder or a box of papers with no idea of the contents. Because “the talk” never happened, the child has little understanding of the estate plan, which papers are important, or the intent of the estate plan. This leads to stress, disorganization, and, frankly, increased legal fees. By having “the inheritance talk” with your children, your children will be armed with some basic knowledge of your estate plan. They will know what to look for if something happens to you. There will be less chance of confusion and mistakes regarding distribution.
This concludes our three-part article on the Six Reasons to have “The Talk” with your children about your estate plan. So what is next? Meet with a qualified elder law attorney first to discuss your different estate planning options. Once your estate plan is in place, it may be a good time to have “the talk” with your family.
To get started on your estate plan, give us a call today for an office or home-visit.
