I just finished drafting a new report called, Protect Your Family Today – Your Easy Estate Planning Recipe. It is an easy estate planning guide.

In it, I explain how and why you are responsible for protecting your family. I’ve made it easy with 3 steps:

• Step 1 – Learn what to do with your property
• Step 2 – Learn who you choose to take care of things
• Step 3 – Learn what to do when something happens

It will help you get started with your own estate plan.

There are too many risks in do-it-yourself estate planning. So, I am not suggesting that you do this by yourself.

You need professional advice.

I’ve written a jargon-free book to help you understand estate planning.

It’s called Estate to the Heart: How to Plan Wills and Estates for Your Loved Ones.

You’ll find my new report, Protect Your Family Today – Your Easy Estate Planning Recipe, will help you take action. You can get your free copy by sending an e-mail or calling to request it by phone at 416.769.9800.

You can read a sample chapter and buy Estate to the Heart: How to Plan Wills and Estates for Your Loved Ones at EstateTherapy.com.

Here are 3 tips to keep you out of trouble.

1. You must know the distinction between executor work and legal work.
2. Get professional advice about your executor duties – the sooner the better.
3. Not all lawyers are experienced in probate matters or can advise you.

Will you Act as an Estate Executor…?

I can give you a proven system with practical tips in my upcoming Executor Workshop.

I’m conducting a one-hour executor workshop on Wednesday, January 26th at 8:00 PM EST.

It is a complete and easy-to-use system to make probate painless for any executor.

I’ve included in the cost of the workshop a downloadable guide called EstateTherapy’s Executor Toolkit: What Every Executor Needs to Know.  Unlike any other guide, it explains what you need to know as I walk you through the probate process, step by step.

You will benefit from the insider information I give to all executors who are my clients.  I call it EstateTherapy’s Executor Toolkit: What Every Executor Needs to Know.  This is the material that you should have received on the first day you started to act as executor.

Who should attend the executor workshop?

• an executor or co-executor who does not know their role and responsibilities
• an executor who wants to know what to do and when
• an executor trying to protect themselves from unnecessary executor liability and headaches

What will you learn?

• legal definitions and terms you must know
• The Probate Process at a Glance … 12 months and counting
• 5 costly mistakes executors make and how to avoid them
• 4 dangers executors face
• The 3-Step Executor Mantra to handle any estate

Space is limited for the workshop so register early to avoid disappointment.  You have nothing to lose with my risk-free guarantee.  The workshop is hosted at EstateTherapy.com.

Here are 3 estate planning resolutions you can keep. Use them to protect your family and to give you peace of mind.

1. Make a will – resolve to invest in a professionally-prepared will. The cost of this investment, spread out over a number of years offers the best protection.

Do you think your homemade or do-it-yourself will is adequate? Prove it by having your handiwork reviewed by a lawyer. Remember – only a lawyer can render a legal opinion on a will. 

2. Make a power of attorney for property – this will ensure that should you have an accident, someone has access to your money. Your attorney would then be able to:
• manage your property, finances and investments,
• pay for your care and expenses, and
• collect rent or sell your property.

Don’t think that your family members can do this for you without a power of attorney.

When you need a power of attorney for property, it is often too late to sign the document. Your family should have access to your bank accounts if something should happen to you. That is why a power of attorney for property should be part of your estate planning tool kit.

3. Make a power of attorney for personal care – don’t leave your family guessing as to your wishes. Express your preferences. Do you wish to:
• continue to live in your own home or a nursing home,
• have in-home care paid for by you, or
• when the time comes, what kind of final treatment you would prefer

Want information to help with your estate planning resolutions? Take action and look at material I have at EstateTherapy.com:
1. download my free ebook: Estate Planning 7 Keys to Success
2. read a sample chapter from Breakthrough Estate Planning
3. register to receive advance notice of an Estate Planning online workshop

Good, Bad, and Ugly Estate Planning

What’s the difference between a good, bad, or ugly estate plan?

Your answer may differ if you are the person creating the disastrous estate plan or a victim of poor planning.

If you are a victim of bad estate planning you have a different perspective. You could be forced to fix estate planning mistakes.

Ugly planning usually leaves you with few options, except going to court to have a judge fix things.

Your estate planning can have profound consequences for other people. Doing something as simple as dividing your estate unequally between your children could be a bad idea.

Will you be responsible?

Your children may become the victims of this plan.  They cannot understand why they were not treated equally by their parents. They end up living their lives with the pain of sleepless nights.

Sometimes, you create an estate plan that leaves spouses unprepared to inherit all your problems. These can be financial difficulties, former spouses, and difficult business relationships.

Sometimes you do not comply with your obligations under family law to support your spouse. You force your spouse to hire lawyers to go to court. This legal process only causes further financial hardship for everyone involved in the estate.

Sometimes, the problem is your estate pays more than it should in taxes. That’s bad.

Not taking the time to prevent problems like these will cause you to leave the wrong kind of legacy. After all, are we not here to enrich the world and not leave others with added hardships?

Good Estate Planning reflects the words of Thomas Mann who said, “A man’s dying is more the survivors’ affair than his own.”

Good Estate Planning is designed to prevent problems for the people we leave behind.

Good Estate Planning requires you to invest in professional advice.

There are no other shortcuts.

Do you disagree?  Then send me your comments.

If you believe you can do it yourself put your estate plan to the test. Let a professional offer you their comments. Then you will know if your estate plan passes the good, bad, or ugly test.

For more information, you can read Estate to the Heart How to Plan Wills and Estates for Your Loved Ones. Visit EstateTherapy.com today to read a sample chapter.