If you are nearing retirement age in California, now is the time to sit down with a knowledgeable Orange County estate planning lawyer from OC Wills & Trust Attorneys.
Retirement represents a major life transition. Ensuring your loved ones are properly provided for before diving into this new chapter can free you to fully enjoy the pleasures and opportunities of retirement — and starting the process of estate planning for retirement can help you accomplish this.
Estate planning can benefit individuals and families of any size, no matter your goals or the value of the assets you have accumulated. Here is what you need to know about estate planning near retirement in Orange County.
OC Wills & Trust Attorneys is a California estate planning firm proudly serving clients in Huntington Beach, Orange County, and Irvine. To learn more about our comprehensive services, contact us to schedule a free consultation today.
Special Considerations for Estate Planning Near Retirement
Regardless of your age or station in life, estate planning can help you and your loved ones avoid confusion and difficult situations under unexpected circumstances. When it comes to estate planning near retirement, there are certain considerations you will want to keep in mind. These considerations include:
Shifting Attitudes Toward Medical Care
When you are young, it is common to want to protect and prolong your life as long as possible by any available means. However, in your later years, you may feel differently about certain procedures, including sustaining life by artificial means. Your estate plan should reflect your current thoughts and preferences regarding medical care.
Different Family Dynamics
In your later years, you are unlikely to have minor children. Instead, any minors in your family are likely to be your grandchildren. By engaging in estate planning near retirement, you can modify your will, trust, and other documents to reflect any desires you have to benefit your grandchildren.
This can be especially useful if you intend to fund your grandchildren’s education or if you are the legal guardian of your grandchild.
A Change in Your Financial Assets and Net Worth
If you are able to retire, it is most likely because you have accumulated, invested, and saved sufficient assets during your working years. There is a correspondingly greater risk that these assets can lose value or disappear through mismanagement or legal processes like probate if care is not taken to mitigate such risks.
The cusp of retirement represents an appropriate time to take stock of your estate and determine how best to preserve its value and size in the event of a sudden tragedy.
When you turn to an Orange County estate planning lawyer from our team to help you during this time, we will get to know you and your specific concerns. Knowing that your estate plan is tailored to your needs, goals, and concerns can bring you the peace of mind you are looking for during your retirement years.
What Estate Planning Near Retirement Looks Like
You may have made an estate plan long ago at some point in your life. Conversely, you may be someone who never gave any serious thought to what will happen to your things after you die. No matter which category you fall into, the process of estate planning for retirement generally involves these key steps:
- Reviewing your assets, financial accounts, and other property
- Determining the goals you want your estate to achieve after you pass
- Identifying your children, grandchildren, and any other beneficiaries
- Learning any specific concerns you have related to beneficiaries and property
- Forming a plan to address those concerns
- Drafting updated powers of attorney, wills, and trust documents to carry out your final wishes and protect you if you are rendered unable to communicate
- Selecting qualified individuals to serve as your guardians, executors, and other crucial positions in your estate plan
The estate planning near retirement process is made simple with the help of OC Wills & Trust Attorneys.
How an Estate Planning Attorney Can Help
Our California estate planning lawyer will present you with information and options so that you can make crucial decisions regarding your estate. Your lawyer will then prepare the necessary documents to memorialize your wishes before helping you sign them and make them official.
The team at OC Wills & Trust Attorneys aims to make the whole estate planning for retirement process quick, easy, and accessible to all. We can often craft your updated estate plan with minimal paperwork and documents from you.
We know you are busy and eager to enjoy retirement, which is why we aim to streamline and expedite the process whenever possible.
Contact an Orange County Estate Planning Lawyer Today
It is never too early to begin thinking about estate planning for retirement. Ensure you are prepared for this milestone by turning to an Orange County estate planning lawyer for qualified help in creating an estate plan that suits your unique situation.
The skilled team at OC Wills & Trust Attorneys has years of experience assisting clients with their estate planning for retirement needs. Contact us to get started today.
