Blueprint
According to the English dictionary, a blueprint is a detailed plan. A blueprint defines how a project (could be a building project) is going to be. It is a navigation map.
Planning
Planning is a vital key to success. People who are successful in career, business etc. do deliberate planning. It is true about “planning to fail when you are not planning”. A planned day turns out to be a fulfilled day. A planned life becomes a fulfilled life. Do you know that a plan for your after life will keep your legacy living on even after your death?
Estate planning Blueprint
Do you have plans for your estate after you die or, you are just going to let the court decide for you what happens to your estate? When you die without a proper plan in place your estate might likely go to either of four places – your family, friends, charity or the court. Your acquisition of this volume of wealth/estate didn’t come without planning. But what plans have you for your estate when you are no more or in the case of incapacitation?
What about saving your love ones the stress of probate by optimizing your plan? This will definitely enable them enjoy the things you will leave behind for them.
Outlined below are some useful tips which will help you ensure proper planning of your estate.
See ahead
Of course nobody enjoys planning for their death but this will make you be at peace with yourself knowing that your estate will be properly managed after you pass.
Failure to see ahead and draft out a concrete plan will definitely back fire when you die. It could back fire in a way that your estate ends up in the wrong hands. There are obviously people whom you wouldn’t want to be part of your inheritance. The only way to make sure that doesn’t happen is to plan your estate today.
Failure to plan up front might end up being the reason for tension among your descendants as there will be confusion regarding who gets what.
Sit down to imagine how things will be when you are no more. Do you picture your family members paying attorneys to help them get access to your estate? Do you picture the court taking over your estate? Answer these questions and get down to planning today.
Find out what options you have
Planning and making decisions isn’t an easy task especially when it comes to issues as this. You might want to consider what options you have. This digging and research will open you up to your best options. It will help you plan for the right purposes using the right means.
You can decide to appoint a professional as a trustee to handle your estate in the case of your death. This might be the case when your heir isn’t capable or lacks the capability to properly manage your estate. Imagine handing over your real estate investment to your heir who is a Doctor. Who barely even have time for himself?
Consulting a professional
In the process of considering your options, you definitely want to consult a professional to help you with this bid of yours. The help of an attorney cannot be overemphasized. Your attorney will be the one to spell out your options to you. Tell you the benefits and risk involved in every option that is available to you. He also provides legal advice as he is a pro in this field.
Constant updates
Depending on the circumstances, you might want to regularly update your estate plan. As things change, it is necessary to have your estate plan covering and reflecting all of these changes. These changes might include the acquisition of a new property, the loss of a property, the birth of a grandchild, etc. It is important your estate plan makes provisions for these entire occurrences. You can decide to update your plan at a stipulated period of time say, every two years or even earlier.
Avoiding the element of surprise
Surprises can have serious negative effect especially when it is below expectation. To avoid hurt and chaos it is advisable to give your beneficiaries a glimpse of what your plans for them are. You don’t necessarily have to bring everything out plain to them. A little insight will be enough. At least you will avoid hurting anyone when you are no more.
The trouble of making a blueprint and planning for your estate now is better, compared to the stress and tension you might leave behind when you don’t plan.
