If you read our previous article about Ages and Stages of Estate Planning, you already know there are huge life events that should prompt you to create and Estate Plan; but there are more stages!
Finances can be the center of a lot of decisions in our lives if it is buying a house or choosing to help a child by co signing a loan. No matter what financial choices you are making you should always think of the future. Below are a few more stages which Estate Planning may be important to begin or to update, because you should always be updating your Estate Plans!
The first stage we will discuss is buying a house! What a huge step for your life financially as well as putting down roots somewhere. If you are buying a house on your own you will need to decide what would happen to the home if you pass away, if you owe money on a mortgage would your estate pay it off or would you ask the beneficiary to continue paying? If you buy a home with your partner you should decide if one of you could pay the expenses if the other is gone, if not you can make a plan to allow your partner to not lose the home.
The second stage to discuss is if you chose to co sign on a loan with someone. This would most likely be a student loan or a car loan for a child. When looking at the loans make sure you are reading the fine print to see if you pass and there is still money owed how the lender would want the loan paid. Some lenders may ask for the loan to be paid in full upon your death, or they may want payments continued that your child or grand child may not be able to make. Once you find out what the lender wants you should adjust your plan to cover this payment so you do not put your decedents in a bad situation once you are gone.
The final stage we will review is owning a business! No matter if you have a business you created or purchased you should have a plan for what would happen to that business if you are to pass. If you have a partner you may want to discuss with them what would happen if one of you passes while you are both an integral part of the business. If you own the business on your own you should make a plan of who you would leave the business too, and you would want to plan to leave them in a good financial situation. If you have taken out loans for this business you may want to allow your estate to pay off the loans, or ensure the heir you are leaving it to would be able to keep up with the payments.
If you have more questions about Estate Planning you can email us kate@swanlawoffice.com or call 970-879-1572.