Estate Planning: What’s Love Got to Do with It?

With Valentine’s Day coming soon, you may be thinking about all the beautiful ways you can show your family just how much you love them. Flowers, candy, and cards are usually top of the list—but estate planning? While this might not seem the ideal way to show your love to others, taking the time to make sure your estate plan is in order is the very definition of true love.

How? Here are four reasons why estate planning is one of your greatest acts of love:

It provides protection.

Since the very moment you fell in love with another person—whether that person is a spouse or a child—you had this innate need to keep them safe, to protect him or her from any harm. Your estate plan is an expansion of that protection for it makes sure that the people you love and the things that matter most to you will be taken care if you can’t do this yourself.

It eases burdens.

While we often think of estate plans as a place to preserve our assets, the other purpose of an estate plan is to make estate administration and asset distribution easier on the family. “Without an estate plan, the courts will often decide who gets your assets, a process that can take years and even get ugly,” writesDonna Fuscaldo for Investopedia. “After all, a court doesn’t know which sibling has been responsible and which one should have free access to cash.”

It is thoughtful.

Chances are you have a lot of important things in a lot of different places—your IRA, insurance policies, investment documents, etc. Yes, you know where everything is, but do your family members? The time right after a loved one passes away is often difficult and chaotic, having a thoughtful estate plan in place will ensure that family members will have all the information and documents they need when they need them.

It is the largest financial gift you may ever give.

If the cost of a gift equates to the amount of love you have for someone, then look no further than your estate plan. “If you or your family has accumulated a substantial amount of wealth and you plan to transfer it to other family members or loved ones upon your death, the estate planning process can help you develop an approach to do so in the most tax-efficient way possible,” says Catherine Schnaubelt for Forbes. The IRS places limits around how much money you can transfer and to whom, so be sure to have a lawyer help you with this process.

Yes, love is most definitely in the air, but this year, forgo the flowers and give your loved ones a gift that will continue giving long after Valentine’s Day.

At the Law Offices of Cindy K. Campbell, we believe in delivering a personalized level of service and care to our clients. We are happy to look over your existing estate planning documents, help you create new ones, or refer you to someone who can help set up your policies. Please call or email us at 866-566-9494 or Cindy@Ckcampbell.com.

This is for informational and promotional purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of information contained herein do not create an attorney-client relationship between The Law Offices of Cindy K. Campbell and the recipient.