No Oklahoma resident wants to talk about death, let alone their own death. However, addressing what happens to your belongings and assets is essential to create a good estate plan.
Having an estate plan can take a lot of pressure off of your family, especially when it comes to estate taxes and probate. However, it’s still essential that your family knows about your estate plan.
Why the conversation is important
Parents especially might not want to stress their kids with a conversation about the estate plan. There are a lot of benefits to having the conversation early and often though, and being transparent with your family.
You want to avoid your children or family members being shocked by the contents of your estate plan. For example, if you have accounts or hidden investments, you’ll want to tell your children about it.
It’s also important to let your beneficiaries and family members know what you want before they read it in a will. A lot of family members will feel a lot of pressure to do what they think their loved one would’ve wanted, but not knowing what’s in the estate plan ahead of time can cause them to have doubts.
Assigning trustees or executors
Your estate plan or trust will need a manager. Estate plans have executors and trusts have trustees, who can be appointed in your estate plan.
Often, parents will put their spouse, the oldest child, or another family member in that role. It’s important to talk to whoever you plan to appoint an executor to make sure they want to do that job and they know what it entails.
Estate plans can make the death of a loved one so much easier. But being transparent with your estate plan can help your family prepare for the inevitable.