01 Sep Estate Planning for Young Families in Arizona

Julie, an estate planner, recently went out for dinner with her friend Jordan. While they were eating, Jordan mentioned a show she had seen about the luxurious expanse of Drake’s mansion. “His estate is huge!” she remarked, which turned the conversation toward the word “estate.” Julie shared that while an “estate” can refer to an extensive piece of property with a mansion, there are other types of estates as well. 

Nowadays, the most common use of the word “estate” refers to all the money, property, and assets a person leaves behind after death. In this sense, everyone has an estate. This fact got the two of them talking about preparing for the future’s unknowns. 

Estate planning for young families is extremely important—especially for families with children, like Jordan’s. Wondering how to prepare, Jordan asked, “What documents should a young person have in their estate plan? Do my husband and I need to plan the same way our parents did? How do we get started?” 

Estate Planning Documents for Young Families

Every young family needs an estate plan, and the process can be very simple. When you have the help of professional estate planners, all the guess-work is taken out of the process. You want to know who will care for your children and handle all the details of their financial well being if you and your spouse cannot. 

Here are three documents every young person should have in their estate plan:

Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney

Should you become incapacitated, this document is necessary to your medical well-being. You can give Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney to another person who will make decisions on your behalf. They will communicate your wishes to health care providers if you are unable to do so yourself. Choosing a person or persons for this job is a sensitive and important decision. 

Living Trust and Will

The experts at Phelps LaClair can help you prepare important estate planning documents like a Revocable Trust, a Certificate of Trust, “Pour-Over” Wills, and Living Wills. You can find a quick lesson about will and trusts on our website. 

Our clients often ask about the exact cost of a revocable living trust. The cost will depend on how complicated your estate is, how complex the terms of the trust are, and whether tax planning is needed. 

All of our revocable living trust packages are done on a reasonable flat-fee basis that will be clearly communicated to you after a free consultation—you will never receive a “surprise” bill from our office.

Durable Financial Power of Attorney

Similar to the Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney (POA), the Financial POA carries out your financial responsibilities if you’re incapable of doing so. Financial matters can become tricky, and can become a point of contention and dissolution, especially when dealing with family. For those reasons, you may prefer to appoint a Financial POA who is an attorney and not a relative.  

Arizona Family Estate Planners

Phelps LaClair is a relationship law firm. That means our job is not just about preparing your documents, but helping you through the estate planning process from the beginning to the end. We will help you design your plan based on your goals, implement a plan that will work in real life, keep your plan up to date over the years, and help administer your plan when the time comes. Schedule your free initial consultation to get started today.

photo by Ratna Fitry| from pixabay.com on 9/1/2021 | used under the creative commons license