Why you may need to go beyond a will with your estate plans

Most people know that they need to write a will before they pass away. This is the basis of estate planning, and the will allows them to give their heirs and beneficiaries a plan for how the assets should be divided.

A will is a good place to begin. However, you may need to go well beyond that to achieve your specific goals. Below are a few examples.

A medical power of attorney

Another estate planning document is a medical power of attorney. You may need someone else to make medical decisions for you at some point, and the power of attorney gives that ability to a specific person, who you name as an agent.

A legal power of attorney

Similarly, someone may need to take care of bank account transactions, property sales, tax payments and much more. A legal or financial power of attorney can give them the ability to do this. In some cases, the person whom you name as an estate executor can also do some of these tasks. 

A well-defined trust 

There are many different types of trusts. It depends where you want your money to go and how you want it to be used. You can fund a trust that can only be used to help an heir pay for college, for example, or you can use a special needs trust so that assets do not accidentally disqualify an heir with special needs from the government benefits that they require.

These are just a few of the things you need to consider when doing your estate planning. Everyone has unique goals, and you must know what legal options you have to achieve yours.