You’ve no doubt heard that you should do estate planning to avoid probate or reduce taxes. Or just because it’s the responsible thing to do — so boring.
Here, however, are 12 more interesting reasons to do your estate planning — will, durable power of attorney, health care proxy and trust — that we think are more interesting and can help lead to family happiness:
- Increase the financial security of your children and grandchildren.
- Decrease their stress.
- Provide a safety net for family members in case of emergency.
- Avoid family strife and increase family cohesion.
- Preserve the family’s history and heritage.
- Encourage family members to be gainfully employed.
- Empower grandchildren to choose less-remunerative but more fulfilling careers.
- Contribute to charitable goals that have deep meaning for you.
- Encourage children and grandchildren to think charitably.
- Provide a memorial for honored family members.
- Preserve the family homestead.
- Make a vacation home available for future generations.
This list, of course, only scratches the surface of goals you may have. While saving on estate taxes and other expenses justifies the expense of estate planning for many people, the money saved should be saved for a purpose.
So, the question each of us should ask is what do we want to achieve through our estates. What are our wishes for our families, or others? How can our estates be used to reach these goals?
