A Perennial Last Minute Gift Idea

This is a gift idea that can be done anytime you want and not just during a gift-giving holiday. This is a gift you can and should give yourself. If you are one of the few that has already done this, then good for you and you are to be commended. However, if you haven’t then why not start the process now?

If you do not have a will or have an old will, then now is a good time to get one either for the first time or to get it updated. Wills do not benefit the person executing [legalese for signing a document] them, but they greatly benefit the deceased’s heirs. There are too many reasons why a will is necessary, and almost mandatory in many situations, and without one, you will leave behind a legacy of selfishness, confusion and significant added time for your heirs to get things in order and legal fees for them. I previously posted a method on why you need a will and how to get started that you can check out.

Along with executing a will, you will also sign documents that might make it easier for your affairs to be maintained if you become incapacitated. These include a durable power of attorney, a health care power of attorney, an end-of-life directive and depending upon your situation or where you live, a living trust. These documents are involved and a big deal, but they are a lot easier to get done while you can, than when you can’t. Bad things happen. We don’t like it, and we don’t like to think about it, but they sometimes occur and not just to people you know, but also to you or your spouse or partner. Get it set up the way you want and not the way your heirs will guess at with the State looking over their shoulders telling them what they can and can’t do and making them file voluminous documents with proof of what you did or want to do when you need to get the State’s approval. If you don’t care about yourself, then perhaps it will happen to your spouse or partner, and you will be the one running around like a chicken without a head trying to get things done the best you can under the constraints of there not being a will or the other important documents.

If you are a co-owner of a business, you must have a buy-sell agreement. A buy-sell agreement is a will for a business. Just as you need a will to facilitate settling your affairs, so you will need the buy-sell agreement to settle your business ownership. This will also permit the transfer from your estate to the other co-owners. Further, suppose you are not the co-owner that died or became disabled, but it was your co-owner, or one of them? I could almost guarantee that without a buy-sell agreement there will be considerable delays, costs, dealings with attorneys and other professionals, and consternation among the survivors. I know from my professional experience that the survivors always think they are being taken advantage of. The family of the deceased think they are getting too little, and the remaining co-owners think they are paying too much. Be selfish about this – get it done since you might be the survivor.

You might have done a great job getting everything in order, but perhaps your children have not. Assuming they are dawdling, give them a push and forward this blog to them. Alternatively give them a gift of the legal fees to get this done and/or a gift of the annual premium for a life insurance policy on your grandchildren’s parents’ lives. This is gruesome, but it accepts a reality we never want to confront. As a point of information, a $500,000 or $1 million term life policy with a fixed premium for 20 of 30 years that is guaranteed renewable and with no extras such as a waiver of premium for disability for most people in reasonable health, would cost less than the cost of a once-a-month weekend dinner.

Everything in here is to get you thinking and probably to urge you to get these things done. These are serious legal maneuvers, and you should not do them yourself but should meet with an attorney who will advise you more fully and relate that advice to your individual circumstances. Also, depending on your personal circumstance you might also consider meeting with your CPA or financial advisor.

Have a Happy, Joyous and Peaceful Holiday.