Sacramento Estate Planning Blog

To some, creating an estate plan seems like a monumental task. Even after they get over the fact of having to consider their own mortality, many Californians struggle to decide how to distribute their assets.

While a competent estate planning attorney can help these individuals create and effectively utilize estate planning tools likes wills and trusts, this is not the end of estate planning. Sure, an individual should feel a certain amount of relief and accomplishment once a plan is finalized, but in order to bring his or her vision for the future into reality, he or she will have to diligently reassess his or her estate plan when needed.

It seems like nearly every aspect of our lives is becoming digitized. Estate planning may be no different. In fact, some states are even making it legal to create electronic wills. Although it may sound like this process is convenient, it can actually present significant problems.

This is especially true for older individuals. While millennials may not see anything wrong with digitizing wills, older individuals are much more open to undue influence and coercion. These types of wrongdoing may be difficult to catch in the digital world. This means that an individual's wishes for his or her estate may not be brought into the light and those who wish to contest a will may have more difficulty proving either the intent of the will's creator or the wrongdoing of the person trying to influence him or her.

Many people have retirement accounts and other investments, as well as Social Security benefits that they have worked hard to earn and build. Although these individuals hope to take advantage of these resources when the time comes, they don't always live long enough to do so. In those instances, major questions can be raised about how those assets will be distributed. Without an effective estate plan, those financial resources may be passed down to someone who doesn't deserve them.

So what can be done to ensure your retirement accounts are directed to an individual of your choosing? The best way is to simply list that identified person as your beneficiary. By doing so, the asset bypasses the probate process and is quickly accessible to the beneficiary. It is worth noting, though, that some retirement accounts, like a 401(k), require you to list your spouse as a beneficiary unless there is a written agreement stating otherwise.

Most people avoid thinking about death. The mere thought of our own mortality often makes us uncomfortable, and it depresses our spirits.

As a result, many Californians choose to put off estate planning until they feel "ready" to do so. For a lot of these individuals, though, the time never feels right. That is why it is important to sit down and really think about estate planning, even if it's just the creation of a will.