No one wants to discuss death or the fact that it may happen to anyone. Someone must tackle this matter. Even if we don’t have much to plan for, we should prepare our loved ones for our departure. If you’re in the Lion City, the estate planning Singapore offers can be acquired through assistance from your bank. Younger families may need more planning.
Here are five things you can do to prepare your family financially and logistically for your death.
- Life insurance
Life insurance. Many people assume they don’t need life insurance. You’re young, single, and childless. You’re done raising kids. You have lots of savings. False. Most of us have valid reasons for buying life insurance for our families.
If your children are adults with their salaries or you have no dependents, a life insurance policy may help pay off bills or burial expenditures.
- List account credentials
How will your family remember passwords if you can’t?
Make sure your loved ones can access any financial accounts or insurance policies by storing the information in a safe-deposit box or house safe. Consider bank, credit, and retirement accounts. Imagine knowing a recently deceased loved one made financial arrangements for you, but you can’t find an account number or PIN. Your family may require cash or other accounts and services you’ve set up after your death. Make these resources easily accessible to them.
- Create a POA
Many people neglect to voice their preferences for their healthcare if they become incapacitated, either because they never realize they should or think nothing awful will happen to them. Every adult should address these issues and make their wishes known in an advanced healthcare directive, including a living will and healthcare preferences. It also names a Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney to make medical choices for you if you can’t.
- Start funeral plans
A $10,000 casket? Donations or flowers?
Say something! You can choose your favorite songs or readings and save your loved ones a lot of sorrow. Any pre-planning you can do while you’re still alive eases the load on your loved ones.
Several decisions must be made quickly when a family member dies, especially unexpectedly. Grieving loved ones will have fewer decisions if you’ve previously communicated your intentions about the style of ceremony you’d like, whether you’d like a church or cemetery gathering, who will deliver your eulogy, and what music will play.
Pre-planning funeral arrangements is best done by writing down your desires and keeping them with other critical family documents (and ensuring your spouse or other loved one is aware of it).
- Make a will
Think wills are reserved for the rich so they may choose who gets their millions after death? Think again. Adults with dependents should have wills.
If you’re married, you should leave your surviving spouse a will. Most married couples prepare mirror wills that give all assets to the surviving spouse first, then to dependents, relatives, or charities.
You should still plan for your assets even if you’re single and have no dependents. Wills can safeguard dependents in many ways. You can name a guardian in your will while they’re young. If you don’t name a guardian, the state will, and their pick may not be ideal.
A will can create trust for your children. A trust can hold minors’ money and property until they attain maturity. A trustee will handle the trust in their best interests.
You can discover internet firms and forms to assist you in creating a will, but we recommend using an estate lawyer for the safest and best document.
We give our loved ones more time to grieve when we plan. We ease their suffering at a loss. In the days and weeks after a friend or family member’s death, fewer logistics provide them more time for emotional support and grieving. For Singaporeans, check out the estate planning Singapore’s top banks offer. Many of these offers are bespoke so that you can prepare for any circumstance.
Leave a Reply