Estate planning docs to have and keep updated

I wanted to send a quick note about something that’s exceptionally important yet often overlooked: proactive estate planning. 

 Only four out of ten U.S. adults have a will or trust — if you don't, there’s never a bad time to pull together an estate plan or revisit an existing one. 

 Consider the following:

• Estate planning is crucial for people of all ages and income statuses. 

• If you have young children, you need, at a minimum, a designated guardian and instructions outlined in a trust should you encounter unexpected death or disability.

• Without a trust in place, a judge will make determinations about your child’s care and the distribution of your property - decisions that typically follow expensive legal proceedings.

• If you don’t have children in your home, your estate plan needs to address asset protection, property management, wealth distribution, and healthcare decisions.

A basic estate plan involves four documents (or more, depending on your assets):

·        A last will and testament

·        A durable power of attorney

·        A healthcare power of attorney

·        An advance directive 

There’s no time like the present to take steps toward giving your family the ultimate peace of mind.

 We’re in the process of adding some of these estate document creations to our services at PFG.  If you’re interested, reach out and let us know and we’ll keep you posted on the release.