Why You Need To Talk to Your Family About Your Estate Before You Die – Technologist

Talking to your loved ones about end-of-life decisions can be difficult, but it’s necessary, according to money expert Clark Howard.

The issue is that procrastination often delays the conversation indefinitely, Clark says.

“Always tomorrow we’re going to get around to updating our will, doing what’s called a living will, now referred to as durable power of attorney for health care,” Clark says. “Having some kind of paperwork that tells your survivors about your online existence, your accounts, now what’s referred to as a digital will, these things are always about, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll get to it.’”

Why Estate Planning Is a Must

Estate planning is a must because if you don’t do it, things can get “really, really messy” for your loved ones, Clark says.

“It’s not fair to your loved ones if you don’t do it,” Clark says. “So this is something that I believe in so much that you don’t go to your grave or your urn without getting this stuff done and keeping it up to date and telling your family, your loved ones, your friends or trusted ones, what you’ve done.”

Clark says there are three categories of planning you need to consider:

1. Your Will

Clark says if your situation is fairly simple, you could create a will online.

If you choose to go that route, you’ll need to keep your information secure and updated.

There are several platforms that allow you to make free online wills, including WillMaker, LegalZoom.com and Fabric by Gerber Life (MeetFabric.com).

On the other hand, if you have a lot of assets and/or a complicated family situation, then you’ll typically need a lawyer to do a will for you.

2. Living Will / Durable Power of Attorney

Both a living will and a durable power of attorney for healthcare allow you to convey your wishes for your healthcare and appoint someone to make decisions on your behalf. There are differences, and Clark says the durable power of attorney for healthcare is used more often today, but whichever one you use, it is critical to talk to your family about both the location of your documents and your wishes.

“Do you know where your living will is? Most states have a statutory form you have to fill out. More importantly, the person you want to carry out your wishes, do they know where it is? Have you gone over it with them? Do they agree with your philosophy?”

Those are all questions that Clark says you should answer as you go through the process of estate planning.

3. Online Accounts

Another category that you want to pay attention to is the many digital accounts you may have.

“Does anyone know how to get into any of the bank accounts, brokerage accounts, frequent flier accounts, email accounts, cell phone accounts and retirement accounts?” Clark says.

It’s a good idea to list all of your accounts – and their respective login credentials – for your loved ones to access, Clark says. 

“I want you to talk to your loved ones about what you’ve done,” Clark says. He also wants you to pick a time when you annually review your accounts.

“Come up with the date each year, whatever that is, your birthday, when we change from standard time to daylight time or daylight time to standard time, whatever it is, come up with that time that works for you and make an appointment that all these things are up to date and as you wish today.”

Read how Clark wants you to handle your online accounts.

How Clark Says He’s Set Up His Estate Planning

“My kids know that if I die second – and I’ve told all three of them – that I’m giving my estate to charity,” he says. “I’m giving each of them a little bit and everything else goes to charity.”

“If, as likely, my wife is second to die, she feels differently. She’s giving money to charity but she wants the kids to have a meaningful amount of money – and we’ve explained that to them,” he says.

Final Thoughts

No matter if you’ve decided on a casket funeral or cremation, Clark says it’s not fair to keep your loved ones in the dark concerning your end-of-life plans.

“And if you’ve got the guts, sit down with your heirs and tell them what your plan is,” Clark says. “Let them even read the will. Because you can’t even imagine how many times a parent says, ‘You know what? She’s doing well in life. She’s got all that savings and all that. She doesn’t need the money. I’m going to give it to her two brothers.”

What then typically happens, Clark says, is that the excluded sibling never finds out why they were left out of the will, which creates resentment.

“The most important thing is to explain your reasoning why you’re alive if you’re not doing, ‘You get this third, you get this third, you get this third,’” Clark says. “Tell them. Explain your reasoning because it eliminates so many hard feelings.”

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