The Family Love Letter

Over the years, many of my clients have expressed the desire to pass along to their children and grandchildren more than just their assets. They want to pass on their life experiences, family values, and aspirations. One way to pass on these values and family history is through the use of a “Family Love Letter.”

A family love letter (or “ethical will” as it is sometimes referred to) is a non-legal, non-binding document in which your values, beliefs, and life experience are documented for future generations. In the rush to prepare our legally binding estate planning documents we often neglect to document our thoughts, beliefs and values for our children and future generations. While the legal documents I prepare as an attorney transfer my client’s assets, unless they prepare a family love letter, their memories, beliefs, values and dreams unfortunately may not be passed along.

While you are working so hard to provide financial stability and support for your family, now may be the right time to develop a plan not only to pass on your financial legacy to your family but to pass on your values, goals, and history as well.

We have helped simplify this planning process by combining the Family Love Letter and the Estate Planning Inventory (discussed below) into one booklet entitled the “Estate Planning Inventory & Family Love Letter.” You may request this booklet when you meet with me to prepare your estate planning documents. You may take the booklet home with you and work on it at your leisure. It is yours to retain and pass along to your family either while living or at your death.

The Estate Planning Inventory

We also highly recommend that you also prepare an “Estate Planning Inventory.” The estate planning inventory is a series of worksheets located within the booklet entitled “Estate Planning Inventory & Family Love Letter.” The estate planning inventory is designed to assist you in organizing a list of financial matters that your spouse or loved ones should know about to smoothly administer your estate, continue running your household, and solidify your financial planning. After the death of a family member, we hear from many spouses or adult children how difficult it is to locate financial documents and information about the deceased loved one’s estate (such information as whether they had various bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, investment accounts, insurance policies, and other important documents as well as which monthly bills should be paid). By utilizing the estate planning inventory within the booklet, you provide your loved ones with information they will need when you are gone. By planning ahead today, you will save those left behind the stress of locating important records during a very emotional time.

Is Your Estate Plan Healthy?

This basic list of questions is a useful tool to use in determining whether you should meet with us to review your estate plan at this time:

1. Have you set up a living trust to avoid probate? If so, is your will a “pour-over will” which transfers your remaining assets (those you may have forgotten to transfer into your trust while living) into your trust when you are deceased?

2. If you have a living trust, have you correctly titled your assets in the name of the trust and have you transferred your assets into the trust (also known as “funding the trust”)?

3. Are you taking advantage of the 2006 annual gift tax exclusion ($12,000.00 or $24,000 if your spouse agrees to split the gift)?

4. Do you have a durable power of attorney, living will and designation of health care surrogate?

5. Do you have the right amount of life insurance?

6. Have you named a beneficiary of your life insurance policy, IRA, and other retirement plans?

7. Are you still comfortable with how you have divided your assets in your existing will?

8. Have any of the beneficiaries listed in your will passed away already?

9. Are you still comfortable with the Personal Representatives you have named in your will?

10. If you have minor children, does your existing will name a guardian for them? Have you prepared a medical authorization naming someone who may authorize medical treatment for your children if you are unable to do so?

For more information on how we may assist you with your estate planning needs, or if you would like to schedule a complimentary 30 minute estate planning checkup, please contact Barbara J. Wolodzko, Esquire at (727) 461-1111.

Please visit our website at www.McFarlandGouldLaw.com to review our upcoming list of seminars, estate planning articles, previous newsletters, and other helpful information and resources. To receive future newsletters and seminar dates, please contact our office by email at Firm@McFarlandGouldLaw.com or by calling (727) 461-1111.