Although talking about your parents’ eventual death may not be a great subject to bring up at the family dinner table, it is still essential to discuss estate planning with your parents. Failure to talk about how to administer your parents’ estate can result in headache and significant financial costs in the future.

Why estate planning is important

Having a comprehensive estate plan can give you and your parents confidence about the future by settling important decisions such as who they prefer to be their primary caregiver and how to pay for healthcare when they are older. Of course, how to distribute property after death can also be decided.

On the other hand, everybody is different with their own access to resources and their own estate planning objectives. This means your parent’s estate plan should be customized to fit their specific needs. An effective estate plan will help to mitigate tax liabilities for your parents as well as their intended beneficiaries.

Understand the documents

Having a basic grasp of the essential documents of an estate plan is the first thing you should do in preparation for this discussion. Some of these documents may include a will, power of attorney or a trust. Be ready to explain to your parents the basic details about what each of these legal documents do.

Family dynamics

Every family is different with certain family members being more influential and even more respected than others. For example, if you have siblings, one sibling may be closer to your parents than another. This could mean this specific sibling should play a larger role in approaching your parents. Just make sure that all of your siblings and other concerned family members are on the same page before the conversation.

Select a time to talk

Generally, the best time to bring up this important topic is as soon as possible. However, it can be challenging to start the conversation which can be confronting and uncomfortable. Make sure to choose a day and time when your parents are not distracted by having to work or handling

household chores or errands. Try to aim for a time when everybody is less likely to be stressed about daily life stuff.

For example, choose a day when you yourself have a day off from work or do not have to take care of the kids. Maybe avoid having this conversation when your parents may be exhausted from returning from their vacation cruise. A busy family holiday party may not be the best time despite the convenience of everybody being all in the same place.

Give us a call!

Estate planning can be quite technical in nature and will require that you have some understanding of applicable rules and regulations. You will also need to stay current on the latest changes to tax laws which can affect your estate planning strategies. At Rademacher Financial, Inc, we are knowledgeable about these types of conversations and planning preparation. Should you have any questions regarding estate planning, please give us a call to discuss your options and how we can best serve you!

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