The Complete Guide to Organizing Your Records for Estate Planning: Step-by-Step Instructions - Softcover

Peragine Jr., John N.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1601382359 ISBN 13: 9781601382351

Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Group Inc, 2022

Synopsis

Planning your estate is a long, complicated process that requires much time and effort. The process of organizing your records for estate planning is equally time consuming and complex. Hiring an attorney to assist you may cost more than you are willing to spend. With the help of The Complete Guide to Organizing Your Records for Estate Planning, you can not only take charge of your estate planning documentation, but also save time, money, and effort. In this new book, you will learn how to find an organizational system that works for you, where to look for records, what to record, who to tell, where to keep records, and how often to update your records. You will also find information on creating a will or a living will, setting up a trust, assigning power of attorney, and filling out health care directives. Additionally, you will learn about the documents that should be included in your estate plan, such as insurance policies, Social Security cards, birth certificates of minor children, stock brokerage statements, credit card numbers and statements, certificates of deposit, real estate deeds, mortgage statements, retirement account savings, non-retirement account savings, and current bank statements. The CD-ROM is filled with sample documents and worksheets, as well as a checklist of often overlooked information, including any medications you take, where you worked, where your savings and checking accounts are located, where your car title is located, what your funeral plans or wishes are, and who should receive what. The Complete Guide to Organizing Your Records for Estate Planning will help you prepare your documents and record your final instructions and wishes. By using the information provided in this book you will save money you might otherwise have spent on legal and accounting fees. In addition, you will save your family the frustration of searching for these documents if something should ever happen to you. This book, written in an easy-to-understand language, will walk you through the process of organizing your records and make the process much easier for you and your family.

About this title

Review

As an estate planning attorney for 18 years, I witnessed numerous families struggle with the death of a loved one. The primary pain is loss, but that emotion can be eased by gratitude for the well-organized estate or enhanced by frustration for the financial chaos some people leave their loved ones. I had cases where the only way the executor or trustee learned of accounts and insurance polices was by waiting for statements in the mail. More than a few families have had to sort through hundreds of files of needless information to find a Will, an insurance policy, or a designation form. New clients often told me that they had an awful experience with the administration of a parent s estate and that they were hiring me to prevent doing the same thing to their children. The Complete Guide to Organizing Your Records for Estate Planning: Step-by-Step Instructions by John Peragine describes every aspect of organizing financial, family, and health care matters. What can feel like a daunting task is broken down into easily achievable steps that will leave you, and your family, with a roadmap of your wishes. An estate planning attorney, accountant, and financial planner can help with the complex analysis of a plan, but they are not there in your home arranging your documents; that is your responsibility. This book is an excellent tool for giving your family and beneficiaries the gift of clarity of your wishes and ease of administration. The sooner you start this process, the better. One advantage to starting relatively early in life is, generally, there is less financial information to organize and updating becomes a habit. Moreover, as John Peragine discusses in the first chapter, death will come to everyone and no one knows when. Particularly with regard to your health care decisions, clearly stating your wishes and appointing someone to direct them is imperative at every age because accidents happen. Sensitive health care matters become an issue when direction is absent, leaving the family, doctors, and sometimes a judge trying to determine your wishes. For many people, seeing an attorney to document their estate plan will be necessary. As a former attorney, I found this book very helpful. First, estate planners will ask about your assets and their value, and after completing your portfolio, you will be able to accurately provide this information. Second, I found that most clients are not aware of estate planning options and terminology and can become overwhelmed by all of the information discussed in the first meeting. This book gives an introduction to estate planning topics, so hopefully, the first attorney meeting will not feel quite as daunting. Third, the book contains various suggestions for including personal messages and information. These mementos can be very meaningful to family and friends, but an attorney generally is not the appropriate person to consult in these matters. Setting up a portfolio, as John Peragine describes, will be one of the last gifts you can leave your family, and in my experience, it will be one received with tremendous gratitude. --Kim L. Allen-Niesen, Esq.

Edition details

• Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Group Inc
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1601382359
• ISBN 13: 9781601382351
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 338