As the weather starts to warm, most of us consider resuming outdoor activities, including backyard barbecues with friends and family. Although cookouts generally reflect informal affairs, planning remain crucial. This is equally true for estate planning. A successful cookout requires a little planning as does estate planning. Don’t leave your beneficiaries in a pickle.
Menu: what do you own?
When you plan a barbecue, you first decide what foods to include on the menu. If you buy the burgers and hot dogs but forget buns, the menu suffers essential components. Likewise, in creating your estate plan, make sure you consider what you own. If you omit important property or accounts from your estate plan, your beneficiaries may suffer the consequences.
Invitations: who are your beneficiaries?
The next step — determine who to invite. Likewise, when creating your estate plan, decide who to assign as your beneficiaries. These are the individuals who will inherit your money and property when you pass away. Beneficiaries often include a spouse or partner, children and stepchildren, grandchildren, other relatives, friends, charitable organizations, and/or a church.
Serving sizes: Who gets what?
When you plan a barbecue, you need to calculate how much food each person will consume. Your six-foot-tall adult son will likely need a bigger portion than your two-year-old granddaughter. In estate planning, your first instinct may be to provide an equal share of your money and property to each of your beneficiaries. However, as is the case with a cookout, you may want to give some beneficiaries a bigger share and others a smaller share. As mentioned previously, if you have a child with special needs who is unable to support themselves, you may want to create a trust to provide for them and give smaller inheritances to your other children who are financially independent.
About Skvarna Law Firm in Glendora and Upland, California
Let a skilled attorney assist with your estate plan. So, contact us today to learn about your options (909) 608-7671. We operate offices in Glendora and Upland, California. Therefore, we provide legal services for individuals living in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties. This includes the cities of Upland, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Colton, Rialto, Chino, Chino Hills, Glendora, Claremont, Montclair, Pomona, La Verne, San Dimas, Azusa, Covina, West Covina, Diamond Bar, Walnut, La Puente, Corona, Norco & Mira Loma. Visit SkvarnaLaw.com to learn more.
