Family Estate Planning: How to Start A Conversation With Your Parents

Done together as a family, estate planning helps everyone feel secure about the future. Starting by discussing living wills, going to an estate planning seminar, or meeting together with a Dayton estate planning attorney can get the ball rolling.

Bringing up estate planning with a loved one, especially a parent, can be uncomfortable for anyone. No one wants to be perceived as chasing after an inheritance. Nor do they want to inadvertently suggest to their parents or other loved one that they aren’t long for this world.

These fears don’t need to keep you from making sure your loved ones’ estates are properly planned for. Estate planning is about much more than who gets what; it’s about making sure your loved ones’ long-term care is planned for and ensuring that the estate that they’ve worked so hard for doesn’t get devoured by taxes, probate fees and creditors.

Below are several strategies to make breaching the subject easy and painless.

Family Estate Planning Strategies

Invite your loved one to an estate planning seminar

Inviting your parents or other loved ones to an estate planning seminar relieves you of the burden of asking tough questions or feeling like you’re intruding on their private business. Instead, the seminar instructor teaches them about their potential needs and, hopefully, motivates them to take action.

We host at least two estate planning seminars or workshops each month. Please visit the Free Seminars page of our website for dates and locations.

Ask them for advice about living wills Start a discussion by telling your parents that you’re thinking about getting a living will drafted. Tell them why you’re considering this, ask for their opinion and ask whether they have one. In my experience as a estate planning attorney in Dayton, OH, I’ve found that people are more comfortable talking about other people’s mortality rather than their own, and once the discussion is started, discussing other aspects of family estate planning is much easier.

Start a conversation about long-term care needs

Let your parents know that you want to make sure they can get the long-term care that they need and discuss what plans are in place to pay for those potential needs. If there isn’t a plan in place, suggest meeting with an estate planning attorney in Dayton, OH to develop a plan. Remind them that nursing homes and other care needs can easily cost $200 a day or more and could leave them with nothing to live on if there isn’t a plan to pay for those needs. Go with your parents to the estate planning meeting so you know what the plan is and what is being considered.

Suggest going as a family to an Ohio estate planning attorney

Everyone needs estate planning, so one of the simplest ways to discuss estate planning with a parent or loved one is to go together to an attorney and find out what your options are. If the loved one is reluctant to go for their own benefit, tell ask them to come along to help advise you. Most likely, as you get information about your own situation, they will start to ask questions about their needs.

Getting started on family estate planning is easy. As a Dayton estate planning attorney, I offer a Free Initial Consultation for new clients. I can help you understand the advantages of various tools such as living wills, trusts, and healthcare power of attorney, and I can introduce you to several strategies that can be of benefit to you and your loved ones.

Call toll-free today to schedule your Free Family Estate Planning Consultation: 877- 483-6730.