If you have adult children who are heirs to your estate, one thing you may want to consider is having them come to your estate planning meetings with your attorney. You may not want them there at every meeting, but having them attend one to go over the contents of your estate plan can be a great idea.
Why bring them to the meeting? It’s simple. They may have questions or concerns. You may want to explain your wishes or show why you’ve distributed your personal assets in the way you have. Doing this now can help prevent conflicts in the future when you’re unable to help them understand.
Why bring your children to an estate planning meeting?
There are a few good reasons to bring your children to the estate planning meeting with your attorney. The first is to introduce them to your attorney, so they know who to contact if they have questions or concerns.
The next reason to bring your children to meet the attorney is to go over the future distribution of your assets. If you have set up trusts or have willed specific items to certain children, then let them know now so that they can bring up disagreements or concerns while you’re here to discuss them.
Another good reason to have your children at the estate planning meeting is to give them time to ask questions. You should ask them to bring their questions with them, so they’re prepared to ask as your attorney goes over your estate plan with them.
Finally, if you have set up any of your children as your health care proxies or power of attorneys, then you need to let them know. If they state that they don’t want to take on the role, then your attorney can make adjustments to the necessary documents right away.
Don’t be afraid to get your family involved in estate planning
Having your family ask questions and discuss your estate plan now isn’t a bad idea. They may bring up important points that you haven’t thought of or that you need to address. Your attorney can help you set up a time to have a family meeting, so they can get all the information they need.
