Points to Ponder in Estate Planning

• What are your two main reasons for making an estate plan?
• What is your biggest priority?
• What, if anything, do you most want to prevent?
• For what or who do you feel obligation or responsibility?

Incapacity

• If you were to become incapacitated, who would you want to make your medical decisions? If not you, who would decide—your doctors, a specific family member?
• If incapacitated, who would manage your finances? (OPB can serve you in this way.)
• What assets would require special supervision, and how do you want them handled, such as businesses, home, vacation homes, etc.?
• Do you provide financial or other support for anyone other than yourself who would require assistance during your incapacity? How would you want to transfer that support during a period of temporary or permanent incapacity?
• How do you define quality of life, and under what circumstances would you want extraordinary measures to sustain life?
• If living independently in your home is no longer possible and decisions need to be made—including having caregivers in your home, moving into an assisted living facility or memory care—what factors are most important to you?

Death

• Who should be the executor or successor trustee of your estate when you pass away? (OPB can serve you in this way.)
• How do you want your affairs wrapped up?
• Is any business succession planning needed? If so, what is the plan? If the plan doesn’t work, what are your priorities? Do you want to make any accommodations for any or all employees if the plan is to close the business?
• Are there particular assets you want to go to specific people, in-kind?
• Do you have ongoing responsibilities or assets that will require planning, such as child support or spousal support, care for aging relatives, business sale or notes that you are collecting on over a period of years etc.?

How do you want your assets distributed?

• Do you have any philanthropic intent?
• Who are your intended beneficiaries?
• Do you have underage beneficiaries?
• Would you be concerned if any of your beneficiaries inherited outright? Do any of your beneficiaries have questionable money management skills? Is it possible the money would go to a spouse or ex-spouse or debt collector?
• Do any of your beneficiaries receive public benefits that could be impacted by an inheritance?
• Do any of your beneficiaries need something other than financial assets, such as support for aging parents, guardian for minor child(ren) or other?

If you would like to discuss these questions in more detail, one of our local trust officers would be happy to help you!