An estate plan can help you prepare your affairs and give you a place to provide instructions for your surviving family members. Seeing that your plan unfolds the way you intend will require some help.
Carefully selecting your estate plan participants can give you reassurance and satisfaction. With trustworthy people filling each role, you can focus on making the most of your life and your future.
Executor and witnesses
You will want to choose someone to handle the closure of your estate at your time of death. This person, an executor, will oversee lots of important responsibilities including the following:
- Obtaining your death certificate
- Satisfying tax debts
- Mediating business affairs
- Selling properties
- Distributing assets
The best type of people to fill this role includes those who exhibit integrity, punctuality, organization and empathy. According to CNBC, you may also choose to include co-executors who can share the responsibilities of closing your estate. You may also want to select witnesses who can verify the legitimacy of your legal documents. Their signatures can provide proof that you authorized the plan and its contents.
Proxy and power of attorney
A health care proxy can make medical decisions on your behalf if you suffer incapacitation. You can provide instructions for the type of medical care you wish to receive, as well as your desires regarding life-saving efforts. Similarly, a power of attorney is someone who can make financial or business decisions for you following incapacitation.
Your estate plan can provide optimal protection for you and support for your surviving loved ones with the help of the right people. If at any point you need to update your plan participants, make immediate changes to your legal documentation to reflect your wishes.