Estate planning is a lifetime process in which a person evaluates his or her situation and plan for the future. It may include planning for retirement, disability, and
death.
When a person dies, grief can interfere with his or her family members’ ability to make decisions. A person’s death often terminates or changes relationships. Estate
planning is a way for a person to reduce emotional stress to surviving family members by advance planning. Additionally, financial hardship to surviving family
members can be avoided by taking into consideration the impact of probate and estate taxes.
Death is not the only event a person should plan for. Many people become incapacitated by illness or accident, either for brief periods or permanently, and cannot
make their own decisions. If the incapacitated person has selected a specific person to make decisions and has left advance instructions, making decisions for the
incapacitated person will be less difficult.
