Your expectations for the future can drastically change at a moment’s notice. This can make it difficult and even uncomfortable to plan for the future you cannot predict. While the world is always changing, there is something that you can be comfortable knowing – your estate plan designates which heirs will get what assets after your passing and who has the authority to make financial and health decisions if you are not able to.
While it may seem challenging to draft your own estate plan, it can be even more challenging to aid aging parents or a loved one in Virginia through the process. However, if it is determined that an elderly parent does not have an updated estate plan or has yet to even draft one, it may be essential to sit down with them to ensure everything is in order.
Because you are likely named in the will and a beneficiary, it is important to not be an influence in the process. Nonetheless, it is perfectly fine to start the conversation and ask your parents about such plans or documents. If it is determined that they do not have their affairs in order, it may be helpful to make a list of the necessary components of an estate plan and what documentation is needed.
It is important to ask whether your aging parents have a will, power of attorney, health care proxy, long-term care plans and trusts. Understanding where they are at in the estate planning process is important. Knowing where everything is important as well. Asking about financial documentation and what accounts they have could help further the conversation about the needs to update an estate plan.
Asking your parents key questions about their estate plan could help ease the process once they sit down with a legal professional. This not only eases an already difficult procedure, but it could aid them in collecting the necessary documents and making a list of their goals and objectives.
