Estate planning is the process of arranging and managing one's assets during their lifetime and ensuring the orderly distribution of those assets upon their death. The primary goals of estate planning are to minimize taxes, provide for the financial security of loved ones, ensure that assets are distributed according to the individual's wishes, and establish your legacy.

Estate planning is critically important because it impacts your family for generations, and there are no do-overs.

If you have a net worth of any significance, then how you pass along your assets will impact your spouse, your kids, and most likely several generations beyond. Planning successes or mistakes may be magnified down through the generations. This is your opportunity to make a lasting impact.

Because most of your estate plan kicks in after you have passed, there are no “do-overs”. In other planning areas, if a mistake is made one year, you can usually take corrective action next year. Even when you’ve passed, your family can still make adjustments to how much they save, how they invest, etc. But with estate planning, there is no chance to change your plan once you’ve passed. Many elements of an estate plan become locked in place at your passing.

The time to get this right is now. Don’t let tragedy strike and leave your family with the wrong estate plan. Carelessness like this can easily tarnish the legacy you want to create.

Estate planning is not exclusively for wealthy, high-net-worth families. While the specific components of an estate plan may vary from simple to complex based on factors such as financial circumstances, family dynamics, and personal preferences, virtually everyone can benefit from some level of estate planning. Even in the simplest of situations, you should be the one to determine how your assets are distributed.

If you want to have control over the distribution of their assets, provide for loved ones, and address potential challenges or uncertainties in the future, then estate planning provides a huge benefit to almost everyone.

Estate planning costs vary based on the complexity of the plan. At the simplest end of the spectrum you might just need a will, power of attorney for assets and power of attorney for healthcare. Much of this can be done online at minimal expense.

At the more complex end of the spectrum where you want to protect heirs from creditors, lawsuits and divorce actions, where you want to avoid estate taxes, and where you want to establish a broad legacy, you may need several layers of trusts or need to establish a family corporation or partnership. Each of these should be priced separately, so you can choose what you want to pursue, and when, in order to control costs.

Estate planning has been used for many years by insurance companies as a means of selling life insurance and annuities which carry hefty commissions. As you decide how you want to protect your family and as you review the many options available to you, you will want to know that the advice you receive in this complicated process is in your best interest.

The only way to truly ensure that the advice you receive is in your best interest is to work with a 100% objective fiduciary advisor who does not sell any financial product and who does not accept any commissions which compromises their objectivity.