Most people picture estate planning as writing a will. Once that is signed, they consider the job finished. A will is essential, but it is only one piece of the puzzle. The pieces around it, the details, are what determine whether your plan protects you and your family when the time comes. That is the focus of a recent article, “A will isn’t enough: 3 ways to help your loved ones before you die,” from MSN.
Start with an important fact: a will only takes effect after you die. It does nothing while you are alive. If you become ill or incapacitated, a will offers no help at all. This is why the first detail that matters is a durable power of attorney. This document lets someone you trust manage your finances, pay your bills and handle your accounts if you cannot. Picture a husband who suffers a stroke and a wife who suddenly cannot access his retirement account to take a required withdrawal, exposing the family to steep tax penalties, all because a power of attorney was never signed. One missing document caused an entirely avoidable problem.
The second detail is planning for your health care. A health care proxy, also called a medical power of attorney, names the person who can make medical decisions for you when you cannot make them yourself. Paired with it should be a HIPAA authorization, which allows that person to access your medical information. Without it, a loved one can be left standing in a hospital hallway, unable to get answers about your care.
The third detail is one of the most overlooked: your beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance policies and payable-on-death accounts typically pass according to the beneficiary form on file, not according to your will. In fact, a beneficiary designation generally overrides your will. If you updated your will after a divorce but never changed the beneficiary on your life insurance, that policy could still pay out to your former spouse. Review these designations regularly, coordinate them with the rest of your plan and always name a backup beneficiary.
None of these pieces works in isolation. A beautifully drafted will can still leave your family stranded if there is no power of attorney, no health care proxy, or a stale beneficiary form quietly pointing in the wrong direction. The documents are meant to work together, and a gap in any one of them can undo the others.
This is also why the details should be reviewed every few years and after any major life event, such as a marriage, a divorce, a birth, a death, or a move to a new state.
The surest way to get every detail in place and working together is to meet with an experienced estate planning attorney. They will help you see the gaps you cannot and build a plan where each piece supports the next.
Legacy One Law Firm, APLC is an estate planning and probate administration law firm in Los Angeles, California, serving families throughout the State. We help individuals and families establish living trusts, wills, powers of attorney, advance healthcare directives, and other essential estate planning documents designed to protect their loved ones and preserve their legacy. Schedule a quick and easy consultation with estate planning attorney Sedric E. Collins, Esq., or call 323-900-5450.
