Thanksgiving: Time for Estate Planning

With Thanksgiving and other end of the year holidays just around the corner, its prime time to get family together and prime time to get your family talking about estate planning. Yes, yes, we know that conversations about estate planning can be awkward but we know that the longterm benefit of having these talks far outweighs the uncomfortable feelings in the moment.

Many people like to keep things close to the vest and don’t share their wishes and pertinent financial information with close family members. While we respect individual feelings and beliefs about what should and should not be shared, the harsh reality of sudden accident or illness cannot be ignored. It can quickly become too late to share your wishes.

A recent article on TheStreet.com recounts the story of Margaret Padock, a Twin Cities market leader for U.S. Bank’s The Private Client Reserve. “Some 15 years ago, she watched her 53-year-old mother struggle with early onset dementia. She would get lost driving to familiar places and forget to bathe or wash her clothes. Then she lost her job as a result and was even scammed out of her life savings by a caller who’d told her she won the Mexican lottery and only had to wire $30,000 to pay off the taxes on her “winnings.” By the time Paddock and her family thought to address estate planning, she says it was far too late and — thanks to an early misdiagnosis — her mother was not able to make many of those estate planning decisions for herself.”

American families are growing more and more geographically distant so the time spent physically together around Thanksgiving and the holidays is ideal to talk about plans, wishes, etc. Its a great way to address things with everybody in the same room.

Here are some tips for a successful estate planning conversation:

-Treat it like a family meeting

-Keeping cell phones and other distractions out of the room

-Make sure everyone, even those family members who didn’t make it to dinner this year, are included. Include out-of-towners via phone or Skype.

-It is unlikely that you’ll be able to cover everything you want to talk about in one meeting. Keep it short and know that you’ll need follow up meetings in the future.

If you would rather keep the spirit light around the holidays and don’t feel that those family gatherings would be an appropriate time to bring up estate planning, its important that you make another time to talk about it. Make estate planning a priority in your family.

Read the full article over on TheStreet.com then make your appointment to come see Gary and his team at GQ Law in San Diego to get your estate planning taken care of.