(612) 206-3701 info@lucerelegal.com

How to Talk to a Loved One About Estate Planning

Lucere Legal helps parents talk to their adult children about their estate plan
Categories: Estate Planning

Estate planning rarely comes up in the course of regular conversation. When it does, it usually involves what  happened to a celebrity’s fortune after their death.  People don’t mind talking about it because the distance is safe from their own lives.

But what about when the time comes that you need to talk about estate planning with a loved one – either your own estate plan or the one they have (or should have)?  Because no one likes to talk about the death of someone they love, people rarely have this critical conversation.  But we all should.

Are you wondering about how talk to a loved one about estate planning?  This Forbes.com article provides some good tips:

Pick the right time.  If it is too difficult to schedule a time for this conversation, have it when you’re doing something else together, like taking a walk.

Start with a story.  Use a story as an opener to the conversation, like the death of a celebrity and the havoc that failure to plan is having on their estate.  Or you could start with how and why you created your own estate plan.

Talk separately.  It may be easier for parents with more than one child to have separate conversations with each child rather than talking to them as a group.

Use a team approach.  If you are having difficulty getting your spouse to focus on estate planning issues, communicate your concerns in terms of the two of you as a team. What your spouse may not be willing to confront alone may be more comfortable when the both of you are acting as a unit.

Ask for feedback.  After discussing your estate plan with your children, ask them individually how they feel about what you have explained.  It may not change what you are doing, but it will let them feel they have a voice.

Explain why.  Explain to your children the principles that guided your decision about how your estate is being divided.  This lessens the chance of conflict among siblings.

If you’d like to learn more about estate planning strategies for your family, call our office today at (612) 206-3701 or fill out our contact form to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk.

Contact us to see how we can help you with Estate Planning

You may also like . . .

The Risks of Poor Man’s Estate Planning: 10 Common Mistakes

With my years of experience as an attorney, I have seen plenty of families left to sort things out for themselves because their parents either failed to plan their estate or turned to the siren song of the new, “do-it-yourself” estate planning websites in a misguided...

It’s Time You Got an Agent

You need an agent. No matter the nature of your unique talent and whether or not you have a particularly telegenic personality, your agent will be there to protect your interests and desires even after you’ve passed. What, did you think I meant the Hollywood type?...

The Tragic Family Fight Over the Property of Funnyman Robin Williams

The passing of beloved comedian Robin Williams shocked the world, but the latest tragedy that has followed in its wake was all too predictable. Mr. Williams left behind three children from two different marriages, Zak, Zelda, and Cody, from his first two marriages and...

The plain-English guide for Minnesota small business owners

When it comes to business, ignorance isn't bliss; ignorance is risk.

There's a handful of legal topics that business owners should be familiar with, at least on a rudimentary level, to reduce the risk of having something horrible come out of left field.

This book is a legal guide to help you put the most common business legal issues on your radar, with enough information for you to be on the alert for when you may need to get some professional advice.

The intention in arming you with this information is so that you can proceed in business confidently and with fewer legal quagmires.

Do you have a cabin?

The first generation that buys a cabin enjoys it to the fullest and it’s a magical place where happy memories are made and families go for some much needed respite. Unfortunately, without thoughtful planning, the chances of the cabin staying a place of happiness and tranquility into successive generations is very, very slim.

If you haven’t done the planning in advance and made it legally binding, the family members (and their ex-spouses and new spouses) will have to work every detail out for themselves. If they can’t, what is likely to happen is a lawsuit called an action for partition that forces everyone to sell their interest. This lawsuit is expensive, and the costs of litigation will come out of the proceeds of the sale of the cabin, so to add insult to injury to those who wanted to keep the cabin but couldn’t afford to buy the others out, they are footing part of the legal bills in the lawsuit against them. Ouch!

It’s no wonder that family members stop speaking for years after the cabin conflict is “resolved.” You can’t make family relationships perfect, but you can take away much of the fuel for the family conflict fire. That’s what cabin planning does, and it has the nice side effect of giving you peace of mind now.

That’s why Kimberly wrote The Minnesota Cabin Planning Guide and Workbook, and you can get a free electronic copy of her book on our cabin planning website, or you can find it in many county libraries in Minnesota, or you can get it on amazon.com.

Make An Appointment>

Join Our Mailing List

Subscribe to our newsletter list to get information and resources helpful to running your business and planning and managing your personal financial affairs delivered right to your inbox.

We don’t spam and won’t share your information with anyone, at anytime, ever.

Check out our podcast

The Small Business Buzz Podcast