A critical part of financial management and managing your assets and estate is estate planning. Estate planning simply means managing your estate, assets, and finances. This is critical to manage your estate for when you pass away. It’s 2024. Almost everything is online, and the process of creating Wills is no different: you can avoid estate planning pitfalls (and ease your wallet) by creating your Will, Power of Attorney, and Living Wills all online.
There are several reasons as to why you may want to create your documents online:
- Procrastination and Delay
People often put off doing their Will in the first place; creating their Wills online offers an opportunity to create their Will in their own time, at their own convenience. Online platforms allow you to create your Will online, whenever you want. It’s flexible.
- Not Having a Will or Estate Plan in the first place
In 2024, there is the convenience and ease that comes with online estate planning tools, like Online Will software, which helps you create your Will easily. With the rise of these online platforms, there should be no excuse in not having a Last Will and Testament.
III. Not Updating Beneficiary Designations
Beneficiary designations on assets like retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and bank accounts often take precedence over the instructions in your Last Will. An online Will can help you update these documents at your earliest convenience.
Here are a few things you need to consider when creating your documents online:
- Overlooking Tax Implications
Estate taxes. These can eat away at you’re your heir’s inheritance when you pass away. Estate taxes can significantly reduce the value of your estate. Consulting with tax professionals and financial advisors for advice on this situation may help, after you have created your Will, Power of Attorney and Living Will. These three documents are the cornerstone of any estate plan.
- Ignoring Family Dynamics
Involve your family members in planning for your estate; it’s important to involve your family members in planning for your estate because it could avoid court squabbles when you die. Let them know what your goals are and make sure your family members understand why you are designating specific beneficiaries, guardians, who your Power of Attorney is going to be, etc., before you pass away. This avoids any hurt feelings.
Estate planning is a crucial responsibility that requires careful consideration and avoidance of common mistakes. In 2024, with the availability of online tools and professional guidance, there’s no excuse for neglecting this essential aspect of financial planning. You also need to periodically review these documents to ensure that they are updated. There are many stories about how a sibling or a child was cut out of a Last Will because the Testator (the person who drew up the Will) died prematurely and didn’t update the Will. Remember that estate planning is an ongoing process.
