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[ INITIAL
CONSULTATION ] [ THREE
P's of ESTATE PLANNING ]
Before our first
meeting you will receive a Welcome Kit from our office. Included in
this Kit are educational materials designed to help focus your
thoughts on the planning process, and a questionnaire to help us
gather important facts. Please take the time to review these
documents and return the questionnaire to our office PRIOR TO our
appointment.
Expect to receive a
reminder phone call from our office the day before your appointment.
This is simply to confirm the time and date of the appointment, and
to ensure that you are still planning to attend. If you need to
reschedule your appointment, please contact us immediately so that
we may rearrange our schedule and perhaps make an appointment more
convenient for another client.
There is no need to go
on a "treasure hunt" at this point for financial or legal
documents, stock certificates or insurance policies. Sometimes, we
find that clients procrastinate in getting their planning done
because they cannot locate, or do not have time to locate, all of
these documents. Truthfully, these documents will not be needed
until we begin the funding process ... which is one of the last
steps in the process! Instead, spend the time before your
appointment contemplating the Three P's of Estate Planning:
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#1 – People
Who are the Important People in your
life?
Beginning with yourself, they also
likely include your loved ones: your spouse, if you are married,
children and grandchildren, if you have any, perhaps your parents,
siblings or other relatives. Beyond these, however, "Important
People" also could include charities, special causes, colleges
or universities, or churches to which you are committed. For some,
"Important People" could even include pets. Spend some
time thinking about the impact others have had on your life. Make a
list and jot notes, if you like. This is where the planning process
truly begins.
#2 – Property
By Property, we mean your assets, in
general.
Make a list of the assets you own or
control. At this point, you do not need to identify insurance policy
numbers and exact dollar values. Rather think through your assets in
terms of their nature (cash, stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.);
their value in thousands of dollars; and your ownership interest: Do
you own assets in your name only, in joint tenancy with someone
else, or through a trust agreement or some other arrangement? Be
sure to include often-overlooked assets like life insurance (the
death benefit, not the cash value), business interests, and any
inheritance you may expect to receive.
#3 – Plans
After identifying the Important People
in your life and your Property, the next step is to consider the
plans you would make for those people (including yourself) and that
Property in the event of your own incapacity or death.
Who would you name to make decisions for
you if you could no longer do so yourself? Would the same person
handle your finances and your personal and health care decisions?
Who would care for your minor children? How would you distribute
your assets to your heirs? Would you prefer to spare your heirs the
cost and hassles of the probate process? Would you like to minimize
the impact of estate taxes ... or maximize the impact of a
charitable bequest? Is there someone in your family with special
needs for whom you would like to provide? Is there someone who
perhaps should not receive a great deal of money without some
outside oversight?
These are just a few of the issues to
consider when approaching the planning process. They are much more
important than the "treasure hunt" for legal documents at
this stage.
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