Have you ever seriously thought through…
What happens when I die?
What happens if I become unable to make my own decisions?

Perhaps the answers aren’t all that important.
If you don’t have a family. If you don’t have children. If you don’t have people who depend on you.
Or, if you don’t care what happens to your family, to your children, to the people who depend on you.

Then you probably don’t need to worry about it.

But what if you do?

If you do have a family…

If you do have children… 

If you do have people who depend on you… 

Estate Planning isn’t about documents, and it isn’t even about death…
It’s about life. The lives of children left behind after two parents are killed in a car accident. The life of the loving husband that has to make impossible decisions about his wife’s health care while she’s in a coma. The lives of sisters fighting over a family bible because Mom never wanted to talk about it. The lives of godparents and grandparents who can’t afford to raise orphaned children, but are the only ones who could ever love them as much as you.
Can you answer the questions?
What happens when I die?
What happens if I become unable to make my own decisions?

• Do you know who will take care of your children if you died?
  • Do those people know? Have you discussed it with them?
  • Can they afford it
  • Do they know the stories you want your kids to hear, the lessons you want them to learn, the songs you want them to sing?
  • Do you know what will happen if something happens to them?
• Do you know who will take care of your kids right away?
  • Will first responders know you have children at home with the sitter?
  • Will Child Services leave them with grandma? With a neighbor? Or will they take them into custody?
  • Will your preferred guardians be able to prove that they are the ones you want watching your children?
• Do you know what will happen to your house? Your money? Your belongings?
• Will your children have access? What about the people taking care of them? What about an ex-spouse?
• Will there be enough income to pay the mortgage? Will the house be foreclosed?
• Will joint accounts be frozen during probate?
• Will your parents or other family members have to take over your debts?
• How public will your affairs be?
• What happens to your loved ones? Your spouse, your children?
• Are you leaving a legacy of photos, heirlooms, stories, memories, values?
• Are you leaving a memory of chaos, disorganization, and legal fees?
• Will your grieving spouse be forced to go back to work the day after the funeral?

We know, we know… it’s a lot to think about. Death is a part of life, and life asks a lot of questions.
And many of these questions are difficult. We don’t like thinking about them.
But…
If you do have people you care about, people who depend on you, then you need to know the answers.

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