From our “Ask a Question” Mailbag: Encouraging an Elderly Parent to Plan Their Estate

Most Recently Updated August 10, 2018.

“My father does not have an estate plan. Any advice on how I should convince him to get one?”

Encouraging an Elderly Parent to Plan Their Estate

Encouraging an Elderly Parent to Plan Their Estate

Preparing a plan for an estate is vital to ensuring one’s assets are distributed appropriately. For many children, it can be very stressful attempting to determine the wishes of a recently deceased parent. It is recommended to prepare a will while your parent is still able to express their wishes. The process of encouraging someone to begin planning their will may not be easy. However, it may prove to be a sigh of relief once your loved one completes their estate planning.  

Begin With Small Steps

The process of planning an estate may be overwhelming at first. However, when approached with small steps in mind, it can make the entire process manageable. Consider the following steps when beginning the process:

• Designating a power of attorney
• Once power of attorney has been designated, the appointed will be able to look into the parent’s assets and financial situation. This may be helpful as power of attorney will also allow you to represent the parent.  
• Power of attorney can be included in a living will. Often, a close family member may hold power of attorney.

Reasons Someone May Avoid Planning Their Estate

It is not uncommon for an individual to avoid planning their will. The following are a few common reasons:

• They do not want to face that they are nearing the end of their life.
• They may become ill and are unable to write their will in time.
• Financial hardship
• Procrastination
• The don’t feel they own anything that is worthy to be in a will

If a loved one does pass without a will established, it may be challenging to divide their assets as they would have preferred. Their assets may likely be required to undergo the probate process through court; which may be lengthy and stressful. Although it can be challenging to convince a loved one to create an estate plan, it may prove well worth it.

Obtain an Estate Attorney

An experienced estate planning attorney can be beneficial in providing information about how the process of distributing an estate may appear without the implementation of a will. Consider meeting an estate planning attorney with your elderly loved one so that they may understand the importance of developing a plan. The attorney may be able to explain the benefits of formulating a will. While meeting with the attorney, you and your loved one may be able to establish power of attorney with help from the lawyer. Developing an estate plan that is both compliant to local and state laws, and is fitting to your loved one’s wishes may complicated for some. Contemplate hiring an estate planning attorney to help guide your through the process such as the estate planning attorney Scottsdale AZ locals turn to.  

More Planning Questions?

Encouraging an Elderly Parent to Plan Their Estate is only a piece of the Estate Planning process. By all means, if you want to learn more, please read my more detailed article, Estate Planning Everything You Need to Know.

In Conclusion: Encouraging an Elderly Parent to Plan Their Estate

I hope that this article was helpful in explaining Encouraging an Elderly Parent to Plan Their Estate. Further, I included links to even more detailed information on my website so you can learn more. Therefore, please contact me and let me know how I did. Certainly, your comments and questions are welcome!

Let our Estate Planning lawyers help walk you through what can be a confusing process. To begin with, call to speak to one of our experienced estate planning lawyers.  By all means, our lawyers are ready to answer your questions. In fact, feel free to contact our office for a free consultation. Ultimately our goal is to make the process as painless as possible!

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Thanks to authors at Arizona Estate Planning Attorneys for their insight into Estate Planning.