Every individual needs to have a plan in place for after they pass. While most people think about wills, life insurance policies, and other traditional methods, many more things need to be taken care of as well.
One of the most important things you can do is make sure that your assets are protected and also look into trusts so that the family doesn’t have to worry about things being taken care of correctly.
If someone is going through your estate planning documents, whether it’s because you died or because you’re looking at it as an exercise, one of the first questions they will likely ask themselves is who should be responsible for carrying out those wishes.
It could be a spouse or child, but not all families work like that; others might not be able to make certain decisions like this. It’s important to figure out who should be responsible for making sure your wishes are carried out ahead of time.
When picking the right person, there are several things you need to take into consideration.
1. Who Can Handle the Job?
In some cases, you might be thinking about your child. In other cases, it could be someone not biologically related to you but who is close to your heart. If this person is going through a tough time emotionally or financially, you should consider how they will be able to do what needs to get done.
Would it make more sense for them to step back and have someone else take over for a while? Can they afford a trust? Will they need help from their spouse or a family member before everything is finalized?
These are all questions you need to ask yourself when choosing the right person. This isn’t just about finding someone that can follow directions; there’s much more that goes into this than that. Think about what you would do if this were a child or friend going through the process and only give it to someone who can handle it.
2. Who is Close to You?
The closer your person is to you, the easier things will be for everyone involved. This could be a child that may not have any other family around, or it might be an adult child that has been there from day one and knows everything about your life as a parent.
Whoever this special person is, they need to fall into both categories. They need to know their stuff, so no time needs to be wasted when going over legal paperwork with them, but also have the right personality, so they don’t freak out when they realize all of these “exercises” are real.
3. Is the Person Trustworthy?
You want to pick someone that will carry out your wishes but isn’t going to go behind everyone’s back because they think they know better.
You also don’t want someone who is too laid back about keeping things under control; you need someone with a plan and enough energy to push through anything thrown at them!
4. Who Can Handle Dealing With the Paperwork?
Estate planning can be very complicated, which is why most people should work with a probate lawyer that knows what they’re doing rather than try to do this on their own (if at all possible).
Not only will they have to go through the initial paperwork, but then there are things like petitions for letters testamentary that need to be filed. You want someone that can work with professionals and not end up spending more money than they need to!
5. Who Can Handle Stress?
Some people are naturally better at staying calm under pressure, while others cannot handle stress very well. If you know ahead of time who this person is (even if it’s yourself!), you’ll be able to make a better choice on whether they should handle the job.
Do some research first; anything involving legalities can be stressful, so try to think about how your chosen candidate will handle everything before handing it over.
If you’re unable to figure out who should be responsible for handling your estate planning documents, there are still ways to ease the process for your family when that time comes.
One of the best ways to do this is by having a trust set up, so the person responsible doesn’t have to carry everything on their back. No one wants that kind of extra stress after losing a loved one, right? Another option might be to hire an attorney to help you with this, so it’s all done correctly.