Some Common Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid

1. Some Common Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid Whether you own a sprawling estate or a modest one- bedroom house, estate planning must top your list of to-do-things. A carefully planned and executed estate plan helps avoid confusion regarding property transfer, management and disposal (in the event of the person’s death). To help their clients manage their estate better, many private bankers in India offer estate planning services as a part of their private wealth management packages. Before consulting any of these private bankers in India, you must learn about some common estate planning mistakes listed in the post. Take a look.

2. 1. Not Updating the Will as and When Required There are many events in a family such as a birth, a death, a divorce, or a new property acquisition. To avoid confusions when dividing property and ensuring the intended person gets their share, it is important that the estate owner updates their will whenever these or other changes take place. 2. Failing to Plan for Disability Estate planning is not only done to decide property transfer in event of the owner’s death. The person must also plan for a long term disability that can hamper their ability to earn, therefore, impacting their financial condition. It is, therefore, advisable that property owners take important decisions such as who handles their finances, raise their kids, and take health care decisions on their behalf in case they become permanent disable. 3. Procrastinating Many people wrongly think that estate planning is an activity meant only for the super rich. Many property owners procrastinate estate planning till there is a death or disability in the family. Further, some people think they are too young to have an estate plan in place. A delayed estate plan can fail to serve its purpose, and can result in the person’s dependent uncared for.

3. 4. Not Seeking Expert Help People with a simple family and financial condition can draft a power of attorney and some other documents themselves. That said, there may be legal issues that they are not even aware of. To avoid legal hassles and confusions, it is advisable that people who draft their documents must request a lawyer to review the papers. Conclusion Not having an estate plan in place can be detrimental to the property owner’s and their family member’s interest. Further, the person must be very careful when nominating a caretaker or an executor and if possible must choose an individual who is not personally invested to perform the duties of a guardian, an executor or a caretaker.