What Will Be Your Legacy Month: Essential Estate Planning Tips to Secure Your Future

August is colloquially known as “What Will Be Your Legacy?” month. In other words, August is a time to consider how you may be remembered by friends and family, and what contributions you will leave to future generations. Of course, it’s hard to talk about legacy without talking about the all-important topic of estate planning.

What Is Estate Planning?

Protecting what you love takes planning—and that’s where estate planning comes in. Estate planning refers to the process of planning ahead for how you want your assets to be handled after your death. The key elements of estate planning include:

• Will: A will is a legal document outlining what happens to your property—including money in bank accounts, real estate, physical items and so on—when you are no longer around.
• Living Will: Different from a will, which deals with property, a living will concerns what medical treatments you do or do not wish to receive in an end-of-life situation.
• Trust: Another way to transfer assets is via a trust, which allows a third party to hold onto said assets until certain parameters are met—for example, until an heir reaches twenty-five. Assets held in a trust do not go through probate court, so may be accessed more easily than assets designated in a will.
• Power of Attorney: You can designate a specific person to manage your financial or medical affairs via a power of attorney document. Power of attorney authorizes that person to act on your behalf.
• Guardianship: Questions of guardianship can be resolved ahead of time by naming a guardian for dependents in your official will.
• Life Insurance: The funds paid out from life insurance can support surviving family members with an income or help to pay for end-of-life expenses.

Why Does Planning a Legacy Matter?

Everyone has different priorities and a different version for the future. An estate plan gives you the ability to decide ahead of time how your assets will be distributed. For some people, this means ensuring that a spouse or younger family members are provided for. For other people, this means leaving funds to a charity or community group. Either way, a good estate plan can help to reduce conflict, uncertainty and tax burdens for living family members or other heirs.

When Is the Best Time to Start?

Most estate planning professionals recommend that you begin the estate planning process as soon as possible; especially once children come into the picture. Creating a will, updating your life insurance policy, and designating guardianship are particularly important for growing families.

As life situations change, you should update your estate plans accordingly. Aim to revisit the important documents after a major event such as a birth, death or divorce, or every three to five years. Regularly reviewing your estate plan will give you more opportunities to determine your legacy.

How Can Harvard FCU Help?

Harvard Federal Credit Union partners with Gentreo—a full service digital estate planning solution—to give members access to convenient and affordable estate planning.

On the Gentreo platform, users can store and access important estate planning documents from one centralized, secure digital vault. Gentreo also makes it easy to update estate documents regularly, and to share documents and information with trusted loved ones. And, a team of coaches, partner lawyers and member service representatives are ready to support users through every step of the estate planning process.

Visit harvardfcu.com/digital-estate-planning to learn more about creating an estate plan to secure your legacy.