Family discussing with the law agent

If you’re young and just starting your career, planning what happens to your assets after you die might be the last thing on your mind for several reasons. For one thing, you typically don’t have that many assets when you are young. Additionally, thinking about what happens to your belongings and possessions after you pass is scary. Thinking about one’s own morality is scary – but estate planning doesn’t have to be scary.

What is estate planning?

There are three main components to estate planning. First, you will need to establish your own will. This is where you decide what will happen to your assets upon your death. Typically, if you are married, your assets will go to your spouse, but you can choose to distribute your assets however you would like. Your will is more than just distributing your assets. It can also grant someone guardianship over your minor children and carry on your wish of where and how you are to be buried after your death. It is very important to be prepared for anything, especially if you happen to be parents of young children. Also, if you have a favorite charity, or perhaps a relative or friend you would like to leave your financial assets to, these will be decided within your will.

Next, you would want to establish a living will. A living will is very different from a regular will. A living will is a legal document stating your wishes regarding resuscitation in a medical emergency, should you ever become incapable of articulating them yourself. As part of this living will, you may choose to make someone you trust your healthcare proxy, which authorizes this person to make medical decisions for you if you cannot make them for yourself. For example, if you fell into a coma and were pronounced brain dead, the healthcare proxy would be the one to make the final decision regarding life support and things similar to that. This is why it is important to take the decision of who you want your healthcare proxy very seriously. 

Finally, you will choose a person to hold power of attorney for you. Power of attorney is similar to a healthcare proxy in that it allows another person to make decisions for you if you are incapable of making them yourself. However, power of attorney pertains to more financial and legal matters than making medical decisions on your behalf. You have the possibility to choose to give both responsibilities, power of attorney and healthcare proxy, to the same person. Power of attorney gives a person the legal right to act on your behalf in real estate transactions, bill paying, donations to charity, and other matters similar to those.

When Should I Start Planning?

It is never too early to start planning your estate. Even if you do not have that many assets, you can designate percentages so that whatever assets you have at the time of your death will be split up in the way you specified. If you don’t have a spouse, it’s a good idea to entrust a trusted family member, such as a parent or sibling, with power of attorney and healthcare proxy. 

Get Legal Estate Planning Help & Advice

Once you make these estate planning decisions, you will need to consult an attorney to get all of this arranged and make it legally binding. The attorneys at Steuer Law can help you through the estate planning process. Contact the experienced attorneys at Steuer Law in Cleveland,Ohio today! Peace of mind is just a call away at (216) 666-5427.