Your last will and testament ensure your wishes – not the courts – guide your legacy.
Major life changes, such as the birth of a child or grandchild, marriage or divorce, the passing of a spouse or heir, the purchase or sale of a home or business or receiving an inheritance, are good times to review and update your plan.
Hosted by Samaritan’s Planned Giving Committee of volunteer financial advisors who raise awareness about the potential advantages of charitable estate planning, two free workshops earlier this month offered participants more about the importance of their will and explored other tax-saving and estate-planning options.
“Creating a will can be overwhelming, but it’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and your loved ones,” said Chris Rollins, chief development officer at Samaritan. “Our … workshop helps bring clarity to what can often feel like a complicated process. Participants can learn directly from knowledgeable local attorneys and leave with the confidence to make decisions that support their families and shape their legacy.”
Because a will reflects a person’s needs, desires and financial circumstances as of the date it was signed, it should be reviewed every three to four years and updated if needed with a new will or another legal document called a codicil, according to Samaritan.
In addition to creating a will for your money, assets and property, it’s equally important to memorialize wishes for care at the end of life by having a “living will” or Advance Health Care Directive. This document will include information such as who you want to make health-care decisions for you when you’re not able, the kind of medical treatment you want and don’t want, how comfortable you wish to be and what sentiments you’d like your family to know.
“There’s a remarkable parallel between the need to do that – that is to plan and document your health-care wishes – and the need to plan your estate,” Rollins explained. “As we work with professional advisors in our community, whether they’re attorneys, accountants or financial advisors, there’s a real parallel to the work that we’re trying to do and that they’re trying to do. That is to get the community that we serve to plan both their health care and their estate better, but especially to do it sooner.”
Advanced planning is a conversation that can continue all year long. Additional advanced planning tools offered by Samaritan include the Five Wishes Living Will document, which helps people express their wishes in areas that matter most – the personal and spiritual – in addition to the medical and legal. It also helps them describe what good care means to them, whether they are seriously ill or not, and allows caregivers to know exactly what people want.
Families can also use the Five Wishes Living Will document to help start and guide family conversations about care in times of serious illness. For more information, visit www.samaritannj.org/giving/legacy.
