Florida Estate Planning and End of Life Decisions
Estate planning goes beyond preparing a will and deciding how you want your physical assets to be distributed. You may have a preference in mind for specific arrangements once you pass away. Do you have something in mind with regard to a funeral or memorial service? Do you want to donate any of your organs? Or, perhaps you have a significant online presence that you wish to handle a certain way. These, and other end of life decisions, should be addressed as soon as possible with your West Palm Beach estate planning attorney.
Memorial Service and Funeral Planning
You can plan your funeral ahead of time, helping reduce potential disagreements between family members over what you want for your funeral service. You can also set up a payment plan, which can help your family members organize a memorial service without stress about the cost. You can decide if you want a more traditional funeral, a memorial service, or maybe a combination of both.
Funeral planning can be as detailed as you want, right down to what you want to be wearing. You can make specific requests, like who should speak at the service, where you want it to take place, etc. Your funeral plan should be kept somewhere safe but be sure to let trusted family members know about its existence.
Donating Organs
Your Florida estate planning attorney can help you with documents that address your intent to donate organs. A living will or advance health directive are two potential documents that can help manage organ or body donation. This is a sensitive subject and something you should speak with your family about ahead of time. Your loved ones should not be caught off guard by your decision to donate organs or your body for medical research.
Your Digital Legacy
Do you have an online presence? Do you run a blog, social media, or other websites? Once you pass away, who will take over these accounts? Perhaps you run a business online and make income through your blogs and social media. If so, you want the right people to have access once you pass away; otherwise, control could turn over to the company that operates these accounts.
You can leave specific instructions with your executor on passwords and what you want to happen with your saved content. You may have important emails, memorable photos, etc. Your executor could also be tasked with publishing updates on your various accounts, letting people know that you passed away.
Contact a West Palm Beach Estate Planning Attorney
These are just a few aspects to consider when you are drafting your estate plan. A skilled lawyer will go over all the potential documents you need to ensure all your assets are protected and your wishes thoroughly documented.
Some people make the mistake of handling their estate plan without first speaking with an attorney. If you make even a simple mistake, it could result in the court ruling that a portion, or all, of your will, is invalid. Let a skilled West Palm Beach estate planning attorney help ensure your estate plan is in order, and your wishes are thoroughly documented. To learn how we can help, contact the Law Offices of Larry E. Bray, P.A. today to schedule an initial consultation.
