"It's important not to look at financial planning in a vacuum. Estate planning is intertwined with the financial plan."
According to Nicole Hart, director of trusts and estates at Sontag Advisory, a financial planning firm, estate planning is often at the bottom of the financial planning list, if it even makes the list. However financial and estate planning are not so strange bedfellows.
RealDealRetirement.com editor Walter Updegrave shares some common financial planning mistakes, which can negatively impact your estate plan.
Skimping on savings. In a recent retirement survey, close to 50% of the near-retirees who were asked what they could have done to better prepare for retirement said they should have saved more. The more and earlier you start saving, the more your money can grow.
Grabbing Social Security without a plan. Taking social security as soon as it is available can potentially cost you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Being purposeful for deciding when to claim Social Security and coordinating claims for married couples support both financial and estate planning money saving strategies.
"The costliest errors are ones we make ourselves, often without realizing how much damage we're doing," Updegrave notes.
Additionally when doing your planning, a newsmax.com article offers some estate planning direction covered more in depth in NW Legacy Law Center Workshops:
- Have both a financial planner and an estate planning attorney examine your major financial documents;
- Sign a healthcare proxy, living will and power of attorney; and
- Discuss all estate issues with your family, even if it’s uncomfortable
Let us help you avoid mistakes when it comes to planning for your future. Get started by attending one of our free estate planning Workshops. Please contact us at 360-975-7770 or at nicolle@nwlegacylaw.com to sign up and learn more! Already a client? Ask us about our Client Service Program with annual planning benefits.
Reference: newsmax.com (April 10, 2015) “USA Today: Don't Neglect Estate Plan as Part of Retirement Strategy”
