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Estate Planning

As difficult as it is to think about our mortality, it is an important exercise in protecting those you love and the estate you have built over a lifetime.

Estate planning begins by developing a partnership with a professional in whom you feel confident placing your trust. Your One Financial Services advisor will meet with you to review all your assets and liabilities. Once the financial picture is clear, your advisor will set up a plan for the disbursement of the estate based on your specific instructions.

That plan will start with the basics: Naming a Power of Attorney to act on your behalf if you are incapacitated followed by deciding and designating your beneficiaries. We also emphasize the importance of a Living Will or Advance Healthcare Directive document, and on some occasions, a Physicians Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment.

One Financial Services will become your partner in building a worry-free future to ensure your love lives on. 

This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax or legal advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific situation with a qualified tax or legal advisor.

Estate Planning FAQs:

What is the One Financial Services approach to estate planning?

One Financial Services believes in a holistic approach to estate planning. It is all about providing the client with a seamless approach through a thorough review of all assets overlaid with the client’s wishes for disbursement. There are individuals and families who have very simple wishes, and others who have complexities which require the use of advance estate planning techniques

Our approach is to take time with you to explore how all of the options and techniques fit within the priorities you have for the disposition of your assets at your death. This provides us the opportunity to meet everyone involved so, when the time comes, there are no strangers.

Do I really need a will?

Having a will is not legally mandated; however, if you do not have one, you leave your family in a difficult emotional and legal position. At One Financial Services, we strongly recommend our clients prepare a will so their wishes can be carried out and assets distributed as designated.

The Will is only one of the important legal documents we recommend. We also emphasize the importance of a Power of Attorney Document, a Living Will or Advance Healthcare Directive document, and on some occasions, a Physicians Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment.

All (or most) of these are typically drafted by an attorney with Estate Planning expertise and become the foundation of an estate plan.

How often should I update my will?

The expression “Life is what happens while you are making other plans” is a reflection of how often you should update your will. One Financial Services recommends that at a minimum, a will should be reviewed every five to ten years as well as when there are any milestone life changes such as a birth, death, marriage or, major shift in your finances.

What do I need to know to start estate planning?

Estate planning should start with the basics: Naming a Power of Attorney to act in your behalf if you are incapacitated is an important first step, followed by deciding and designating your beneficiaries. As a One Financial Services client these two steps provide us with a basis from which to begin your estate planning.

How do I start estate planning?

The term “estate planning” encompasses many facets of securing your loved ones future from the simple act of ensuring you have named a beneficiary on all your financial accounts, to setting up complex trusts designed to distribute your assets in specific ways.

Your One Financial Services advisor is a good starting point to discuss your unique concerns, as well as the laws that govern estates where you legally reside. Once your wishes are clear, an attorney will become involved with the final drafting of your estate planning documents.

Why and when should I start estate planning?

Protecting those we love is our most natural instinct. It is therefore typical to start an estate plan at the time of your first adult event or transaction. If you buy a home, get married, start a business - all of these are good reasons to meet with an attorney to get started on your estate plan

All your work to provide a comfortable lifestyle and bright future for your family can be threatened by one accident, one illness, one emergency. It is never too soon to ensure your love will live on.

Why should I have an estate plan over a basic will?

A basic will is just that…basic. It includes simple instructions as to who will receive your assets when you die.

However, your life is likely not basic, it is probably full of all the elements a busy, successful life entails.

Do you own a business? Are you married for the second time? Do you have minor children or grandchildren, or beneficiaries with special needs? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, you need more than a will; you need an estate plan.

Any of these special circumstances should be addressed through an advanced estate plan, one that would incorporate some or all of the following advanced features: Trusts, which may be irrevocable, or revocable, Buy / Sell Agreements, Pre-Nuptial Agreement, or Guardianships for incapacitated persons.

Life is complicated enough, how to protect and distribute your estate, should not be.

Estate Management 101

Estate Management 101

A will may be only one of the documents you need—and one factor to consider—when it comes to managing your estate