Estate planning is a sensitive and necessary part of aging. While we don’t like to think about it, it is the best thing we can do for our heirs. Having an attorney who is compassionate and listens to your wants is also extremely important. Following is an excerpt from the NY Times……
Deciding how your children should inherit your assets after your death might be one of the most difficult processes parents will undertake — especially if they have more than one child and complicated assets. But more difficult, and often overlooked, is how your children should behave toward each other if they are not happy with the outcome.
• One of the biggest errors parents can make is spending too much time creating the legal entities known as trusts and too little time on the kinds of conversations that will help ensure that trust among siblings is maintained when parents are no longer around to settle disputes.
• When creating the legal documents parents often name siblings trustees of other siblings’ trusts — or even pick a friend or relative to do the job. And it might seem like a natural thing to do.
But keeping these complicated and stressful decisions in the family or among friends can create a heavy burden. Trustees have very specific legal and financial responsibilities that a family member may not understand. And they risk legal entanglements if they fail to act in a responsible manner.