Estate Planning in Retirement: Organization and Communication

07/22/20 • 42 min

By now you know how important estate planning is in retirement. But what is also important is to organize and communicate your wishes to your loved ones. In this episode, you’ll learn how to organize and communicate your estate planning wishes. We’ll chat with Sarah Bunnell from Everplans who will let you know how and why organization and communication are so important. Listen in to hear her expert take on these matters. And make sure you are signed up for the 6-Shot Saturday email so that you can receive an essential document checklist.

An estate plan that is not organized or communicated correctly misses the point

Let’s say that you have just finished your estate plan. Congratulations on putting that all together! Now that you have completed this first step it is imperative that you take that next step and communicate your wishes to your loved ones. Once you get your financial assets and legal records organized then you’ll want to ensure that your loved ones know about them. The probate process is very involved so the more information that you can give them now will save them time and worry during an already stressful period.

Who should you communicate your estate plan to?

Once you get your estate plan set up you’ll need to think about who you want to share it with. Do you have a trusted financial advisor? A CPA? An attorney? Who will be your point person? You’ll also want to make sure that you tell more than one person in your family. What would happen then if the family member that has all the information was involved in an accident with you? If you are single you’ll also want to consider who your trusted team may be.

What about organizing your digital life?

Almost everybody knows that you should have a will and a medical directive. But what about your digital estate? How will your family access your digital files? Is your digital estate a mess? In these modern times of paperless statements, your heirs may not know what kind of accounts, insurance policies, or even properties you own. Without the passwords to the myriad online accounts, they won’t be able to make the payments or changes that they need to in the event of your passing.

A bit about Everplans

Everplans is an online digital vault that we use in the Rock Retirement Club. This online organizational tool stores all the estate information you would need to have organized. Everplans allows you to share information on a piece by piece basis either now or after death to the important people in your life. You can store funeral plans, wills, trusts, financial statements, even recipes, and videos. Learn more about Everplans and organizing and communicating your estate plan on this episode of Retirement Answer Man.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

[1:50] What is an emergency plan?

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT

[4:18] Why is the organization of your financial assets and legal records so important?
[6:50] What are the essential elements of an organized estate plan?
[14:30] How important is it to organize
[19:45] A bit about Everplans

Q&A SEGMENT