Five documents form a basic estate plan: a will, revocable living trust, durable power of attorney, advance healthcare directive, and guardian nomination. Each one handles a specific job, from distributing property after death to naming who raises your kids if something happens to you.
Okay, so in my last video I talked about why having an estate plan is so important, especially if you have minor children. But what the heck is actually an estate plan? There are 5 basic documents, 5, I want you to know about. There's a will, which says what you want to happen to your property when you die. There's a revocable living trust, which is like a legal bucket. You put your assets into it and you leave instructions about who manages them and who ultimately receives them. Number 3, there's a durable power of attorney where you choose somebody you trust to handle your affairs in case you can't do it yourself. There's an advanced healthcare directive where you choose somebody to make healthcare decisions for you if you're unable to make them yourself as well. And the last one here is that if you have minor children, there's a nomination of guardian. That's where you tell the court who you want to care for your children if you're no longer here. Now there may be other documents depending on your situation, but those are the basics. And don't let all these legal words intimidate you. Estate planning is really about something very, very simple. It's about protecting the people you love and making your wishes clear. Please follow me for more and check out the link in my bio for more information.
