Estate Planning,..The value you leave behind?

By: Robert Katz



Many people wait much too late until they decide to start Estate Planning; when it is much better to just understand the fact the you are mortal and you will die some day, and that you should make sure your possessions, family and loved ones that your leaving behind are well taken care of. Estate planning consists of writing your will, deciding the distribution of all of your cash, who gets your real estate, dividing up your possessions and other property, and leaving a instructions and a last message to you family and friends with advice on dealing with your loss. There are many potential pitfalls when you plan out your estate insufficiently. Some of the serious financial problems with not planning out your estate properly or at all are the excessive delays of probate and the cost of lawyer, accountants, administrative fees, etc. After you dye, for example, if you have most of your money in investments and your investments start to decline with an economic recession, like the one we are in now, your family will not have the ability to withdraw these investments in time if you didn't set up the proper precautions. Additionally, while it maybe hard for you do deal with the fact that you are going to die some day, isn't it more important to help your family and loved ones cope with your loss by making these decisions and provisions for them so there isn't added stress and responsibility to deal with. Finally, isn't it also important to make sure you are the one whose in charge of whom is entitled to everything you've earned over the course of your life, and also how you will be remember based on the legacy create for yourself.

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