You never know everything when it comes to estate planning in Indiana. Things are always changing, and staying informed means constantly keeping your thumb on the pulse. Luckily, there are those who are doing that job for you, so you can stay focused on the preparation, organization and storing of your estate planning documents.
Start with what’s important
No matter how you approach it, estate planning overwhelming world that’s all too easy to get lost in. One method that may help is to narrow it down. If you can home in on the most important things and handle those first, you might find the rest of the steps less daunting afterward.
These are the main documents you’ll want to have ready to prepare, organize and store:
- Estate planning documents
- Legal documents
- Power of attorney document
- Living will
Keep in mind that a person’s living will may also be referred to as an advance-care directive. There are different kinds of wills, but a testamentary will is the most common. This is easy to recognize because it’s a document commonly depicted in pop culture with “Last Will and Testament” in big letters at the top.
Always have a backup plan
One important point here: If you’re naming any guardians for children or pets, make sure to have a contingency plan in mind. You never know when someone will be unexpectedly unable to step up to the role of guardian.
Once you have these crucial documents gathered and assembled, it’s important to know best to handle the storage and sharing of these documents and make the most out of them. No matter how robust of a system you’re using for storing your estate planning documents, it will only work if you put it to good use.
