SUBSCRIBE
Enter your Name and Email address to get
the newsletter delivered to your inbox.
Please include name of person that directed you to my online newsletter so I can thank them personally.
Jacobs & Newmark, CPAs
100 Lexington Drive, Suite 250, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
Phone: 847-537-0100
It may be a toss-up as to who dreads a family talk about your finances and the future more. You or your heirs. Regardless, if you haven’t had that talk or it’s been a while, there’s no time like the present to discuss expectations — yours and theirs — concerning your estate. They could be quite different.
At your meeting, you’ll want to share the contents and locations of your will, insurance policies, any trusts you’ve set up, your retirement plan accounts and beneficiary distributions, and a business succession plan, if appropriate, along with other estate documents.
That may be the easy part. You also need to let them in on your assets in bank, investment, and other financial accounts — something people often have difficulty doing.
If you haven’t already named a financial power of attorney and executed a healthcare proxy, a family meeting is a good time to do so or to share your choices if you have.
If you’d like to see inheritances used for college expenses or a down payment on a home, you may want to set up a trust to distribute funds for those purposes and explain why.
If you want personal property to go to particular people, explain your reasons and list those bequests in your will. You may help avoid family squabbles later.
Be clear about your healthcare proxy and what life-extending measures you do and don’t want, and why you’ve chosen your proxy. It’s a difficult task not everyone can handle but needs to accept.
Finally, assure heirs that your professional advisors will be there to help.
Enter your Name and Email address to get
the newsletter delivered to your inbox.
Please include name of person that directed you to my online newsletter so I can thank them personally.
Enter your Name, Email Address and a short message. We'll respond to you as soon as possible.
The information and opinions contained in this web site are obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The publishers assume no responsibility for errors and omissions or for any damages resulting from the use of the published information. This web site is published with the understanding that it does not render legal, accounting, financial, or other professional advice. Whole or partial reproduction of this web site is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.