estate planning

So what should you start thinking about before you begin the process?

First, you really need to decide who is going to be the person who will manage your affairs for you when you are gone. This person is known as your Executor/Executrix. in the case of a trust, they are called the Trustee. This person is extremely important to the process and should be selected with a lot of thought and care. Unfortunately, many estate plans never get off the ground because people often cannot decide who they should pick to be that person. Also, i am not a fan of selecting more than one person for the job in order to prevent hard feelings among children. While the person you select doesn’t need to be close by in today’s digital age, often the person selected isn’t someone who lives very far away. This is especially true of a person chosen as a medical power of attorney. This is the person that carries out your end of life medical decisions based on an estate document known as an Advanced Directive.

Once you know who will carry out your affairs after you’re gone, the next question is “who gets what?”. How do you want to divide up your estate among your heirs? For retire - ment accounts like an ir A, 401k, annuity, or life insurance policy, you will name a beneficiary directly on those accounts and not in your will. For everything else such as your home, cars, stuff, etc, that will all pass via your will.

Another consideration is who will make decisions for you if you are alive but unable to make those decisions yourself? This is known as your power of Attorney. This person will manage your daily affairs such as paying bills, etc. among other things.

Now that you have a will, a power of attorney, and an advanced directive (or pOlST- portable Medical Orders), and possibly a trust (if you want more control over the heirs), don’t forget to review your plan every few years or when tax/estate laws change. Be sure to ask your CpA, financial advisor or attorney if recent law changes may affect your situation. Keeping your plan current is very important.

The final thing i ’ll say is that the most important step in the process is the first one. Just get started because the longer you wait the harder it can be to make those decisions. Think about who you want to manage your affairs and who you want your estate to go to and then go talk to a professional to help you through the process.

Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. Reich Asset Management, LLC is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS. Neither Kestra IS nor Kestra AS provides legal or tax advice. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. To view form CRS visit https://bit.ly/ KF-Disclosures.

Eric is President and founder of Reich Asset Management, LLC. He relies on his 25 years of experience to help clients have an enjoyable retirement. He is a Certified Financial Planner™ and Certified Investment Management AnalystSM (CIMA®) and has earned his Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®) and Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) designations. A lifelong resident of Cape May County, Eric resides in Seaville, NJ with his wife Chrissy and their sons ,CJ and Cooper, and daughter Riley.