National Estate Planning Awareness Week: On the Hardest Day, Your Plan Will Be the Hand They Hold
National Estate Planning Awareness Week falls during the third full week of October. Congress created it in 2008 because so few Americans plan ahead, but any week this month is the right week to act on it. And we want to push the idea one step further: A complete estate plan does more than say who receives what. It tells the people you love exactly what to do on one of the hardest days of their lives.
Q + A: How Do I Ask My Parents about Their Estate Planning?
"My parents mentioned years ago that they have a trust, but that is all I know. I have no idea where their documents are, who their attorney is, or what they would want if something happened. How do I ask without seeming like I am after their money?"
Parents: 4 Ways to Ensure That You Leave a Lasting Legacy
Thanksgiving week is such a great time to reflect on family and the legacy we wish to leave for them and for the communities and the world that made this life possible for us.
A legacy is so personal. Everyone has different ideas about the kind of legacy they wish to leave. Some people want their legacy to involve charitable work. Some want their legacy to involve personal achievement, such as writing a book or qualifying for and running the Boston Marathon. Some people just want to be the best mother, father, or friend that they can be—the bow to their arrows. All of these ideas about what constitutes a legacy are legitimate.