Now is the Time to Talk About Your Estate Plan

“Making an estate plan is taking action from the heart. Estate planning is a gesture that comes from a place of love and caring for those who depend on you.”

– Connie Aschenbrenner Estate Planning Attorney in the State of Alaska

By Realttorney^®

It is ten days before the end of the year. Typically, you will see on television programs the yearend reviews about the economy, and specific sectors or industries in the Philippines. Sadly, part of this yearend review consists of recalling personalities or celebrities who suddenly and unexpectedly passed away during the year.

Think about your situation now. If you suddenly die tomorrow, what will happen to your immediate family – your spouse and children or your old parent living with you? How will be taken care of? Who will care for your children when they are not yet of legal age?

Who will care for your child with special needs or an old relative depending on you for support, if this is applicable in your situation? What will happen to your properties – real and personal? Can your immediate family members continue your business venture?

There are so many questions to ask. And the answers are very difficult to provide. But the questions can only be answered if you are willing to sit down and commit to talking about your estate plan.

Talking about estate planning is always very difficult for a vast majority of people because most of us cannot imagine what things would be like after we die. But, I argue, that it is precisely what we should be doing – imagining what and how our loved ones would live after we are gone. We must look at and consider the different scenarios that will affect the quality of life of our loved ones when we pass away or become incapacitated for a long time.

Every family situation is unique. Hence, every estate plan is very much different from the next. There is no one-size-that-fits-all plan when you want to set up one. Estate Planning is, according to one author, premature death planning. So, what exactly is an estate plan?

Your estate plan is a tool where you communicate your wishes when you die or become incapacitated permanently or for a long time. It is a set of instructions to your loved ones on how you will be remembered and how they will be provided financially when you are no longer present or unable to dictate your wishes personally. It is also a road map on how your debts and other liabilities will be settled, as well as how the business will go on without you at the helm.

Several days ago, the husband of a lady lawyer passed away. He was 31 years old. So much of life ahead but cut short. The couple had a two-year-old and a baby several months old, it seems. When I read the news, the first thing that came to my mind was the welfare of the children.

The second thing was I hope the couple was savvy enough to get life insurance for each spouse and prepare a simple estate plan. Purchasing life insurance is part and parcel of an estate plan because it is one of the basic tools of estate planning.

It does not matter whether you have a large or small estate, or you are just starting out in life; whether you are single or married; or whether you are separated or estranged from your legal spouse. Every Filipino of legal age, who is gainfully employed and has dependents – young or old – for financial or economic support must have an estate plan in place, as you as possible.

WHERE DO YOU START? If you are now convinced that you need to take this estate planning seriously, how do you begin the process? Here are my suggestions for you to consider:

1. Research on the topic exhaustively. The first thing to do is to go to Google, type in the words “estate planning in the Philippines” in the search bar, and press ENTER. There are multitudes of articles for you to start reading. When you read these articles, please take down copious notes so that you can go back to read them after going over the rest of the articles that Google suggested.

2. Learn about the basic estate planning tools. In your quest for information, you must know what are the basic tools that are available and applicable to the Philippine setting. There are plenty of articles about basic estate planning tools that are written by authors from the United States. Again, you must take down notes so that you know what each tool can do and what are the best tools that are needed for your situation.

3. Take note of your current family situation. You must take stock of where you are in life when you begin the process of planning for your demise. Are your children still minors? If yes, then you must think about who you will appoint as guardian if you die suddenly.

This is also very much true if you have a child with special needs, like me. How will your child be cared for? Who will bring your child to therapy – occupational or speech, or both? How will the cost of the therapies be paid for?

Do you get the picture? Do you get the sense of how to go about meticulously planning for this eventuality in your life? Take notes, make a mind map, or draw a flow chart. Whatever it takes to capture your thoughts on paper, or the computer will be worth it.

4. Talk to your immediate family or nearest of kin. It is my opinion that an estate plan should not be made or crafted in secret. You must talk to your spouse or immediate family members whom you will rely on to execute your plan to perfection. Pick out the relatives who you can trust and make them involved in the process. Get their input and comments on certain things that you want done when you are gone. Again, take note of what they say positively as well as their objections to certain things.

Now that you have more than a handful of notes, what do you do will all this information? Learn them by heart. And when you are ready, it’s time to reach out to a professional. Estate planning is a multi-disciplinary approach to crafting your plans after you have passed. These experienced professionals – estate planning attorneys, certified public accountants, life insurance brokers, licensed real estate brokers, registered financial planners, etc. – will guide you in preparing an estate plan that is tailored to fit your needs.

Once you have made your estate plan, with the able assistance of various professionals, please remember that its contents are not set in stone. It can be changed and revised based on the changes in your family circumstances or life-altering events that affected your health or your business.

In conclusion, Connie Aschenbrenner said, “Don’t wait until a crisis arises to begin the conversation. In a crisis, you may not have the time to fully consider your options. Or you may be incapacitated and unable to decide on anything at all.”

Estate Planning is more than just premature death planning. It is a protection plan for the lives of your survivors, according to Ms. Aschenbrenner. Don’t wait before it is too late. Start the process of planning your estate now. The Google search bar awaits you.

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Atty. Jojo is a real estate attorney, an estate planning attorney, a licensed real estate broker, and a PRC-accredited Lecturer/ Speaker for Training Programs in Real Estate. He is a Chartered Trust and Estate Planning (CTEP^TM) professional who is committed to educating Filipinos about the value and importance of having an estate plan in their lives.