Good “helpers” are essential to an effective plan. Could the people you’ve chosen as executor, trustee, power of attorney, or guardian pass this simple test?
Every Estate Plan Needs a Good Helper
We talk about good “helpers” a lot, and that’s because they are vitally important to an effective estate plan. Helpers are the people who will carry out your plan when the time comes. They can be known by different names depending on which document names them as a helper. Some helpers are trustees for trusts, some are executors for wills, some are power of attorney for health or finances, and some helpers are guardians for minor children. No matter the title, their job is essentially the same – to make good choices and to act for you when you cannot do it for yourself. (Read more about choosing good helpers here.)
The Checkbook Test
There is a very simple way to gauge whether you have chosen the right person to be one of your “helpers.”
Imagine the person you have chosen (or are considering choosing) as your executor or trustee. Now, imagine giving them your checkbook and letting them pay your bills for a couple months. How does that make you feel? Do you feel nervous? Anxious? If so, you may want to reconsider who you’ve chosen as a helper.
Read about 7 Types of Helpers to Watch Out For here.
So, how can Edwards Group help?
If you’ve been around Edwards Group for any amount of time, we hope that you’ve seen how we approach estate planning differently. One of the things we do differently is by counseling our clients as they make the hard decisions that have to be made when creating an estate plan. We have experience that most people don’t. We do estate planning all day every day, and we’ve done it for over a decade now. We can help guide our clients through these hard choices.
If you need help choosing “helpers” for your plan, call us at 217-726-9200 and ask for a copy of our paper newsletter on choosing helpers. We’ll be more than happy to mail you a copy. You can get immediate access to this great resource here.