{"id":23908,"date":"2017-03-03T12:00:27","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T18:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=23908"},"modified":"2017-03-03T02:58:36","modified_gmt":"2017-03-03T08:58:36","slug":"frazier-allen-five-reasons-to-prioritize-a-lasting-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2017\/03\/03\/frazier-allen-five-reasons-to-prioritize-a-lasting-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Frazier Allen: Five Reasons to Prioritize a Lasting Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"F&MClarksville, TN<\/strong> – Have you been dragging your feet on estate planning? You\u2019re not alone. Nearly 64% of U.S. adults don\u2019t even have a will, including 51% of people age 55 to 64, according to website Rocket Lawyer.<\/p>\n

But a lack of estate plan, or an outdated one, leaves you and your family vulnerable. Your assets could get tied up in the costly court probate process after death.<\/p>\n

\"Estate<\/a>

Estate planning is for everyone<\/p><\/div>\n

Your loved ones might have to make difficult decisions about your medical treatment if you become incapacitated.<\/p>\n

And they might dissolve into bickering over what you might have wanted.<\/p>\n

Think about it: You know your intentions, and who better to choose who will make decisions for you if you become incapacitated?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to nail down three basic elements:<\/h4>\n
    \n
  • A will that includes a list of personal property and who will inherit<\/li>\n
  • A durable power of attorney to make financial decisions in the event of your incapacity<\/li>\n
  • An advance healthcare directive<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Here are a few reasons to get your affairs in order.<\/h4>\n
      \n
    1. Making sure your loved ones will be taken care of. <\/strong>A will is especially crucial for blended families, where children from a previous marriage may not be automatically provided for in the manner you intended. Taking stock of your assets also offers a chance to think about how well your family will be able to adapt and then plug any gaps. For example, long-term care insurance can protect against the high cost of a nursing home stay, and life insurance can provide a safety net to help pay the bills. <\/li>\n
    2. Avoiding probate.<\/strong> There are a few strategies that apply here. One option is to list beneficiaries for your bank and retirement accounts to ensure the money goes straight to them. You can also create a revocable living trust for your property, give assets away while you\u2019re alive or consider joint ownership.<\/li>\n
    3. Ensuring someone you trust will be available to manage legal and financial matters. <\/strong>A durable power of attorney can also step in if you should become incapacitated and handle property maintenance or manage investments or a small business. You can designate joint power of attorney if you think more than one person is needed to handle your affairs.<\/li>\n
    4. Securing the medical treatment you want. <\/strong>A living will and durable power of attorney for healthcare, both elements of an advance healthcare directive, can address when to provide or withhold artificial nutrition and other life support.<\/li>\n
    5. Minimizing federal and state estate taxes. <\/strong>There are a number of ways to preserve more of your assets to benefit your loved ones and favorite charities.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Your family and your legacy are important; take the time to protect them as best you can. Once your plan is in place, you will need to review it, including beneficiary designations, once a year and after each major life change.<\/p>\n

      Next Steps:<\/h4>\n
        \n
      • Update beneficiaries and review insurance<\/li>\n
      • Share your values through charitable giving or a family love letter<\/li>\n
      • Create a comprehensive estate plan that fits your objectives<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Clarksville, TN – Have you been dragging your feet on estate planning? You\u2019re not alone. Nearly 64% of U.S. adults don\u2019t even have a will, including 51% of people age 55 to 64, according to website Rocket Lawyer. But a lack of estate plan, or an outdated one, leaves you and your family vulnerable. Your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[825,29843,11584,29844,29568,7932,29842,28194],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4xGYI-6dC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23908"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23908"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23909,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23908\/revisions\/23909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}