Estate Planning is an important and everlasting gift you can give your family. And setting up a smooth inheritance isn’t as hard as you might think"

- Suze Orman

Everyone has an estate. Your estate comprises of everything you own. Your car, your home, banking accounts, investments, life insurance and personal possessions. No matter how large or modest, we all have an estate – and you can’t take it with you when you die. 

When that happens – and it is a “when” and not an “if” you probably want to control how the things you have are given to the people you care about. To ensure your wishes are carried out you need to provide instructions stating to whom, what and when they are to receive then. 

This is Estate Planning. Making a plan in advance and naming whom you want to receive the things you own after you die. 

• Estate planning is for everyone. It is not just for “retired” people, although people do tend to think about it more as they get older. Unfortunately, we can’t successfully predict how long we will live, and illness and accidents happen to people of all ages.
• The best time to plan your estate is now. None of us really likes to think about our own mortality or the possibility of being unable to make decisions for ourselves. This is exactly why so many families are caught off-guard and unprepared when incapacity or death does strike. Don’t wait. You can put something in place now and change it later … which is exactly the way estate planning should be done.
• The best benefit is peace of mind. Knowing you have a properly prepared plan in place - one that contains your instructions and will protect your family - will give you and your family peace of mind. This is one of the most thoughtful and considerate things you can do for yourself and for those you love.