Family Meetings- A Vital Step in the Estate Planning Process
Estate planning for aging parents is not easy and requires a lot of patience; however, starting with family meetings is not a bad idea. In Boise, estate planning involves different laws and regulations that guide the process. If you are trying to have an estate plan, working together with your family is not a bad start. It is a crucial step if you are preparing for the future. It can be not easy when your parents are entering the age where they are going to need financial assistance and need to be ready for it. Therefore, it is essential that families start planning and preparing from today so that their future can look secure.
There are requirements and special needs that need to be taken into consideration, especially when it comes to aging parents. It can include various things such as home care, nursing homes, adult day care, etc. While these needs are essential, estate planning should cover financial and legal needs, too. Johnson May Law Firm in Boise can help you with your estate planning.
Why is planning an agenda important?
It is very much helpful in letting everyone know what are the needs that need to be taken into consideration. It is not an easy task and is usually given to the person in charge. The meeting needs to be scheduled, and the agenda needs to be outlined. It should include the topics that one needs to go through.
The agenda should be made available to all the family members before the meeting begins. The members of the family should be encouraged to attend the meeting, and they should also be told that they can come up with their own ideas and that anything that they want should be discussed during the conference. There are some items that are typically included in the agenda:
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Financial:
All the services and costs related to care should be listed, and the assets should be reviewed, too. Other things can include the monthly budget or the person’s income.
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Medical:
An overview of the medical costs and procedures needs to be discussed. If any changes are required, that will also be listed here.
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Living arrangements:
It is going to include everything that is desired by the person, what the things are that are actually physically possible, etc.
What does assigning roles include?
When the meeting is called, it is essential that people recognize their role and their relationship with the one who needs care. This can be understood through an example: let us say there is a primary caregiver, and now you all can decide that such a person would not handle finances, too.
Gathering information is also essential so one of the family members can be given this task. Keeping and collecting medical records is necessary, too, and this task can also be given to someone in the family. Furthermore, if there is any family member who is not satisfied with their role, then it can be exchanged too. If you think there can be arguments, there can also be a neutral person who can handle such things.
Why is involving the whole family important?
The entire family should be part of the meeting in order to discuss the issue and the possible options that need to be addressed. If the whole family is there, solutions can be found to provide support to each other. Everyone’s ideas and topics should be heard and discussed in the meeting so that everyone feels included. There might not be a solution to every issue, but one can have a sense of direction.
Hire a lawyer and get your estate planning done!
It is crucial that you remain on track with the legal framework and that you navigate through the process with ease. Lawyers have years of experience and thus can make things easier for you.