Do you have a professionally drawn up will ? Do you have a power of attorney drawn up for someone to take care of your affairs if you are incapacitated? Dying without a will is very expensive and will cause your heirs nightmares to settle your estate . You may be thinking" I do not need one as everything will pass to my spouse " WRONG ! What if both spouse die in same accident what happens to the children and assets ? Main items of consideration in a basic will are : executor , guardian and trustee . Go see a lawyer or your financial adviser that understands will who can first explain the provisions of a will to you in way that you can understand . After you have a will work with a lawyer that will spend time to draw up a proper will for you and not as I saw in a business meeting with a client tell them that he will get his ASSISTANT secretary create something for them . If you own a business you should have a business will to deal with your business assets .
I was just contacted by a client that I have been trying for over 10 years to complete a full Estate Plan in early January . Where does one start ? Take inventory of all assets / liabilities , investment vehicles , insurance contract , complete a questionnaire with me designed to ask questions to bring clarity and build a advisory team around my client . Who is part of that advisory team besides our firm ? Existing legal and accounting professionals , bring in other advisor's when necessary like Ken Andrews/Ron Prehogan from Equitas Consultants to deal with inter family issues and numerous other resources developed over my last 29 years in the business . We are what you would refer as a quarter back of many a Estate Planning projects as well as Business Planning sessions . Why ? Experience of working with individuals from which some are known here as well as internationally . I thank all my clients that allowed me to be part of their life and trusted me to always keep their best interest at heart .
