Estate planning checklist before you travel

I hope you all returned safe and sound from your Christmas travels. November and December are often extremely busy months for estate lawyers because so many people realize right before they travel that they haven't yet put their wills in place.

Getting your wills done before you travel is a good thing. Peace of mind is important, whether you're the one traveling or the ones left at home. However, there is more to it than just a will. Check out the following article from www.estateplanning.com that provides a checklist of estate planning items to get organized before you travel. Click here to read it. The article is American but still applies in almost all aspects.

It's a Family Affair: Checklists for caregivers

I've come across what looks to be an excellent resource for baby boomers helping to look after aging parents. It's a kit called "It's a Family Affair" containing checklists for the caregiver. This looks like it could really help to keep track of  lot of essential information, and also allow for respite caregivers to come in more easily. Here's an excerpt from their online information:

"The 'It's a Family Affair' pack contains 23 forms and checklists and includes:

IS IT TIME TO STOP DRIVING? This checklist provides you with 28 signs to look out for when out driving with an elderly parent. If you're thinking you might soon need to have that 'awkward conversation' about driving with an elderly parent, find some excuse to go out in the car with them as the driver, tuck a copy of this checklist into your pocket before you set off and complete it as soon after your return as possible.

HOME EASE AND SAFETY CHECKLIST Is your parent still living in their own home? Take a walk around the home with this checklist and a pen to see if there are any potential problems with their living arrangements. Then, transfer all the jobs that need to be done to the Home Maintenance and Repair Checklist...

HOME MAINTENANCE & REPAIR CHECKLIST – If your parent is still living in their own home, this form will help you keep a record of all scheduled maintenance and repair jobs throughout the year.

LOCATION OF VALUABLE DOCUMENTS TRACKER - Do you know where your family member keeps all those important documents such as their birth certificate, marriage certificate (or divorce papers) and the details of any funeral arrangements they've made in advance? This form will let you record the location of 34 different important documents to give you peace of mind about the time when you will need to find and use them.

MEDICAL HISTORY TRACKER – This will help you keep track of every Doctor's appointment that your elderly parent or relative has - including each diagnosis they've been given and the treatments that have been prescribed - so that you can refer back to it whenever the need arises.

MEDICATIONS TRACKER – Never lose track of what medications your parent needs to stay healthy and safe - log them all here for future reference (and to hand to respite carers to ensure continuity of treatment).

NEIGHBOUR INFORMATION - Keep a record of pertinent information about your relative's neighbours - just in case you can't get there in time in the event of an emergency and you need to call on them for help.

BANK/CREDIT CARD INFORMATION TRACKER - Keep track of all your parent's bank account and credit card information for quick and easy reference. (Keep this one somewhere safe, though - just in case!)

MEDICAL QUICK LIST - Details of all of your loved one’s doctors on one page for easy reference.

CONTACTS RECORD - If you have some issues that need resolution and require either help or information from experts in the topic, be sure to record aspects of your conversations that could be useful in the future. Don’t rely on your memory to keep the facts straight.

MONTHLY BILL/EXPENSES SCHEDULE – Are you helping an elderly relative keep track of their expenses? List everything that must be paid during the Month here. (Including the Due Date or the Date of Automatic Withdrawal.)

RENEWAL INFO - Are you worried about forgetting to renew something very important - like homeowners insurance? Record it all in one handy page, so you can check each month, what's due.

UTILITIES QUICKLIST - All your parent's utilities providers - all in one place with telephone and account numbers

FOOD JOURNAL – Are you worried that an elderly relative that you have close contact with isn't getting the right nutrition? Record all food and drinks consumed for an accurate picture of their daily intake.

MEDICAL BILL MANAGER – If you have a lot of medical bills coming in, keep track of what's been paid and what still needs paying with the Medical Bill Manager.

GROCERY SHOPPING LISTS - If you're taking over the grocery shopping for an elderly parent - either on a permanent basis or just for a short period, choose one or more of these lists to help you save time and effort...

HOME SERVICE RECORD - Keep track of yearly chimney cleanings or septic pumpings or anything else that needs to happen on a regular basis. Note the company that performs the service as well.

And finally, if your loved one should need to move out of their home, we have forms you help you again with a handy change of address list and a list of accounts to close.

All these forms and checklists will be delivered in immediately downloadable PDF format. You will receive a folder containing two PDFs - one containing 'portrait' oriented forms (where the height of the page is greater than the width) and the other containing 'landscape' forms (where the width of the page is greater than the height)."

To read more about this and, if you like, to place an order, click here.

A checklist of things to consider when making your estate plan (part 1 of 2)

This brief but informative article is from Dennis Duffy who blogs at http://www.duffylawoffice.com/ . In it he talks about the basic documents you should have in your estate plan. Note that the Americans use Living Wills. We don't. We use a document that is called a Personal Directive, Advance Directive, or Health Care Directive depending on where you live. Click here to read the article.

An estate planning checklist (or, Stop Going Out in a Blizzard in Nothing But Your Boots)

What's the difference between estate planning and getting a Will made? It's approximately the same difference as going out in the middle of a -40 Alberta blizzard wearing a parka, mitts and boots, versus going out into that same freezing weather wearing nothing but the boots. The parts that are covered will be fine. The uncovered bits, not so much.

The elements of an estate plan, pared down to their essence, are:

1. A Will. Important issues are the choice of executor, the choice of a guardian for minor children, distribution of your assets to your beneficiaries according to your wishes, and the inclusion of powers for the executors and trustees.

2. A Continuing, Enduring or Durable Power of Attorney. Important issues are the choice of attorney to represent you, how or when the document is to come into effect, and controls on the attorney. May include addressing immediate needs due to incapacity.

3. A Health Care Directive. Again important is the choice of agent to represent you, and the clear expression of your wishes. For older individuals, may include discussion of various supported living arrangements to address limitations.

4. Title to various properties. Important decisions are joint ownership and tenancy in common, right of survivorship, tax effects, potential disputes, and effect on overall estate plan.

5. Insurance coverage. Major issues are ensuring liquidity to cover tax liability, creating new wealth for distribution and keeping up with changing lifestyle insurance needs.

6.  Beneficiary designations. Tax savings are important. Also important are obligations to a spouse, the impact on the overall estate plan and creditor-proofing. Affects RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, ESOP, LIRA, DRIP, pension and life insurance.

7. Business succession planning. Important issues are choice of family successor, other possible exit strategies, tax planning, future income and timing. Should tie in with shareholder's or buy-sell agreement and company-owned life insurance.

8. Tax planning. Looking for ways to minimize taxes and maximize funds for distribution in the estate.

9. Trusts. Important issues are income-splitting for tax purposes, protection of handicapped adults, protection of children, and preserving assets to be inherited by a beneficiary at a later date.

10. Charitable giving. Important issues are giving back to the community, creating lasting legacies and creating tax credit.

11. Retirement planning. Includes discussion of dissipation or sale of current assets, business succession timelines, planning for incapacity and changing insurance needs.

12. RESP. Appoint a successor director of the plan.

13. Family dynamics. All of the items on this list are discussed in the light of the roles, abilities, shortcomings and personality of the various members of the family. Issues that may crop up are subsequent marriages, children from different marriages, separation agreements, divorce, common law arrangements, illegitimate children, disabled children, children vying for a place in the family business, belligerent or overbearing children, disputes between spouses or children, estranged family members, greedy or untrustworthy family members, and children with addictions.

As you can see, the items listed here overlap and loop back to each other. The idea is to make sure that everything works effectively together to achieve your goals. So use this checklist for your own planning and stop going out in just your boots.