estate planning for generation x

Estate Planning for Gen-Xers

Gen-Xers are slowly easing into middle age, which makes estate planning an urgent and important action for them. It’s noteworthy that people of Generation X have a number of unique issues that must be addressed during estate planning when compared to millennials and baby boomers. You should talk to a qualified estate planning attorney in La Mesa to meet your primary financial goals in the best possible manner.

Caring for Young Children

Many Gen-Xers are still in the midst of raising a family with younger children. Estate planning activities can easily get shunted to the back burner as you go about the daily chores and duties that come with raising children. It’s absolutely essential to craft a plan that protects your children.

An important thing you can do as a Gen-X parent is to draft an estate plan and name a guardian that will take over these duties and responsibility in the event that you and the other parent becomes incapacitated or dies. You need an estate plan to provide inheritance provisions since your young children will not be legally allowed to own property until they come of age.

You will also need to include tools for providing the children with financial protection in case you are no longer around to make an income. Estate planning is useful even if you don’t have children, but just pets. Many people consider pets to be family and may want to ensure their pet is taken care of till they eventually pass away.

You can make arrangements in your estate plan for your pets if you are physically unable to care for them or die. You can name a caregiver and list specific instructions for them to ensure your pet’s needs are taken care of.

Divorce and Remarriage

A significant number of Gen-Xers have gone through a divorce or are in a second marriage. You should update your estate plan as necessary if there has been any significant change in your marital status. The changes you make should include updates regarding advanced medical directives, powers of attorney, and inheritance choices.

Incapacitation

You should include specific tools addressing a possible incapacitation event while estate planning. While the likelihood for Gen X members to become incapacitated is far less as compared to baby boomers, there is always a possibility. Speak with a capable estate planning attorney about making preparations to pass on medical decision-making and financial management responsibilities.

You may also want to include appropriate tools to give representative directions regarding decision-making when you lose the ability to manage your affairs. You would likely have amassed a significant amount of digital assets if you are like the many million members of Generation X. This includes blogs, social media accounts, videos, photographs, financial accounts (Amazon credits, PayPal, Venmo, and Bitcoin), and email accounts.

Your estate planning attorney will help you appoint a person you can trust to manage these accounts when you are too ill to do so. This will enable you to designate a person that essentially inherits the accounts when you die.

You can continue being your own digital boss by planning ahead for the future. You can decide to whom you wish to transfer the digital property while making sure that no significant or valuable digital property gets lost.

What is Involved in an Estate Plan for Gen-Xers?

As a Gen-Xer, you should consider drafting an estate plan that accounts for your unique needs. An estate plan may include the following:

  • Trust: This is a legal document that helps the estate avoid probate. Probate refers to a public court process that leads to the distribution of an estate. The probate court will distribute the estate as per the will if present. If not, the assets will be distributed in accordance with state law. Different goals can be achieved by different types of trusts. This includes protecting assets while your loved one requires care at a long-term or nursing care facility.
  • Power of attorney: This is an efficient way of establishing who will be able to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf if you ever become incapacitated. The guardianship process is the alternative process, which is a lengthy, costly, and public court proceeding.
  • Healthcare proxy: This is again similar to having a power of attorney. However, the proxy will be designated to specifically address your healthcare planning needs.

Review these documents on a regular basis. In fact, you should get in touch with your attorney every three years to discuss potential changes to the estate plan and your will. It is recommended that you work with an attorney experienced in the area of law to draft the plan instead of using a template.

Contact a Seasoned Estate Planning Lawyer in Las Mesa Today for Legal Advice

Estate planning is one of the most important ways to preserve and protect your financial legacy. A skilled and knowledgeable estate planning attorney from Garmo & Garmo, LLP can help you stay focused on your goals and plan for a more secure financial future.

To schedule your free and confidential consultation with us, call us at 619-441-2500 or write to us online.