I hope everyone had an enjoyable Father’s Day. After more than 16 years of practicing law, I’ve seen families that really enjoy it. Others are going through some nasty strife and can’t enjoy it. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, it can be a good reminder of the importance of having a will.
It also depends on where you fall on the spectrum. For me, I’m in the middle generation at the table. My father is there enjoying Father’s Day dinner and my kids are running around. So I can look up one generation and look down at the same time.
Grandfathers
For the grandfathers, a will is probably already part of your estate plan. Hopefully, you’ve spent some time thinking about it. Chances are, over the years, you may have made a few changes. Perhaps you first had a will drawn up when your kids were young. Maybe it included custody and guardianship provisions for your kids. But then they grew up. Now they have kids of their own. You don’t need the custody and guardianship plans you spent so much time crafting.
Instead, your Father’s Day thoughts may be focused more on your grandkids. Perhaps you’d like to set up a trust for them. Leave some money specifically for their education. Maybe your grandson has always had his eye on that special heirloom in your den. Regardless, there are lots of different ways to create a will that focuses on your grandkids and their futures.
Fathers
If you don’t have grandkids (yet), your priorities will be quite different. Now is the time to make sure your guardianship and custody provisions are up to date. I recently updated a will for a client because their chosen custodian now had children of their own and wouldn’t be able to handle an extra two children in their household. We reviewed their plan and set up a new structure for their children.
You may also want to make sure you have a strong financial framework for your children. Your financial advisor can have some good ideas and plans for you. Maybe you haven’t updated your beneficiaries in a while. As much as it may be a good time to meet with your lawyer, it could also be a good time to meet with your financial advisor.
Children
Adult children may also be sitting at the Father’s Day table remembering all the problems they had when someone died and they had to administer the estate. Remembering all they went through, they may be reminded of the importance of having an estate plan to avoid all of those headaches.
No matter where you were sitting at the table, there were plenty of angles for your estate plan at your Father’s Day dinner.
Next Steps
If you need to create a will or if you have a will that you’d like to review, please give me a call and we can discuss some options for you – (877) AMAYERS.
