Should Family Members be on Your Estate Planning Team?
In my last post, I discussed the importance of using a team approach to estate planning and the different roles your team members could fill. If you haven’t had a chance to read through this post, I suggest going back and looking to have a better idea of how each role plays an essential part in your plan.
Now that you have learned about the different roles, you might ask yourself: should I choose my family members to act in these different roles?
While it is common for people to pick their spouse to fulfill many of these responsibilities upon their death, the question of whether or not you should use family really comes down to a personal choice.
You may want to consider these tips before choosing a family member to be a part of your estate planning team.
You are not required to choose a family member
The first thing to note is that you are not required to choose a family member. This is particularly important when you’re talking about who you choose as the guardian of your minor children.
People frequently confess that a significant concern is not offending a family member if they decide to choose someone outside the family to be the guardian of their children.
While I understand this concern, it is SUPER important to remember that this is YOUR plan. It’s your life. It’s your children’s lives. You get to decide! You have the autonomy to choose whomever you want. And you are not required to communicate that information to anyone in your family.
Now, I will often recommend that my clients communicate this information with their families. But the first thing to note here is that you are not required to choose a family member for any of the different estate planning roles.
Does that family member possess the necessary traits?
The second thing to consider is: does that family member possess the necessary traits for the role you wish them to fulfill?
As an example, the executor of your will needs to be very detail-oriented (forget what an “executor” does? Read here or watch my YouTube video on this topic ). This person needs to understand and be able to meet deadlines. They have to be willing to put the notice in the newspaper (yup, you still need to do stuff with old newspapers!) and work with anyone you owe money to or want to give things to in your will.
For example, if they know you still owe an electric bill, they have to be willing to take care of the bill and close that account.
Each role on an estate planning team will have slightly different requirements. But for all of the roles, it really comes down to this: does the individual have what is needed to do the job asked of them?
Is the family member willing to do it?
And lastly, you want to make sure the family member you choose is willing to take on the role.
Sure, your brother may be highly detail-oriented and the perfect match to be your executor — but does he want to do it? Is he willing to do it?
This is where the actual conversation with your family members will come into play. I use the term “family member” broadly here. You may not have family nearby or simply don’t trust your family to follow through with what you are asking. Maybe you choose a friend or neighbor to take on a specific role because it will be easier for them.
Instead, you could hire corporate entities to take on some required roles. These could include businesses, banks, and attorneys. In fact, it is common to have an attorney take on your executor role!
The important thing to remember is no matter what, you have options!
Takeaway
You shouldn't feel obligated to choose family members to take on estate planning roles. When selecting who should be on your team, just like any other choice you make, the real question is: Can the person do the job that's being asked, and are they willing to do it?
If they can do the job and are willing, they'll be a great choice! Make sure you communicate and let them know what you have asked them to do in your estate planning documents. Make sure they are okay with it…. Because if they're not, it's better to find somebody now who you trust to take it on.
Thanks for joining us! If you still have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
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