Estate Planning (Part 2)

To have effective estate plan, you should:

1. Prepare your will. I have shared the impact of a person dies without a will in my previous post that DISTRIBUTION ACT 1958 (As Amended in 1997) will distribute the estate according to the ACT. Is this what you want?

If you want to write a will, my advice, do not do it by yourself. You should get a good will writer to assist you. There are many law aspects which we, as a layman, might miss out. The duty of a will writer is to fill up this gap. A licensed will writer will advise special aspects that you need to pay attention to and their lawyer will draft the will for you.

You might think why you need to look for will writer but not the lawyer directly. You may, of course. But, please bear in mind that not every lawyer is expert in will writing. It is true. My parents did go to a lawyer for will drafting when I was a kid. At the end of the day, what they got were just a page of letter with a few words (nonsense). After I grown up and I checked their will with other lawyers I know and my parents only then realized that the letter is just a piece of junk.  An very expensive junk.

When you search for will writer, again, do not just look for one but a few more. The more you listen, more knowledge on will writing you will get. You will be able to judge which will writer is good for you. For me, I did come across a will writer who is totally bias on telling you his own thinking of estate allocation but not yours. Kick this kind of will writer out.

2. Always review your plan in cases of divorce, death of a spouse, adoption, birth of each child, moving from one state to another, receiving a windfall, getting married or remarried.

3. Make a list of all your assets and all your liabilities. Your liabilities will have to be paid at your death. What's left over, minus administrative and probate costs, is what your beneficiaries will get. Decide who gets what, and in what proportion. Do it on regular basis as you do not know what will happen the next day or next minute.

4. Name an executor who will manage your estate from the time of your death until the time that your assets are distributed. This is a big job, so make sure the person has the time and the ability to do it.

5. Choose a guardian for your children, if any.

The above are general areas you need to pay attention when preparing estate planning. A will writer will advice in other personal aspect. 

So, plan now.