3399: Estate Planning 101 by Jesse Cramer of Best Interest on Planning Future Assets

Get more for your business with Northwest Registered Agent. They help you launch an LLC for just $39 plus state fees, while helping protect your identity by keeping your home address private. Don't wait. Protect your privacy, build your brand, and get your complete business identity in just 10 clicks and ten minutes. Visit northwestregisteredagent.com/paidofd and start building something amazing. Get more with Northwest Registered Agent at northwestregisteredagent.com/paidofd. Hi. This is Joe from Vanta. In today's digital world, compliance regulations are changing constantly, and earning customer trust has never mattered more. Vanta helps companies get compliant fast and stay secure with the most advanced AI, automation, and continuous monitoring out there. So whether you're a startup going for your first SOC two or ISO 27,001 or a growing enterprise managing vendor risk, Vanta makes it quick, easy, and scalable. And I'm not just saying that because I work here. Get started at vanta.com. This is Optimal Finance Daily, estate planning one zero one by Jesse Kramer of bestinterest.blog. What happens when you die? Will your soul travel to an ethereal plane? Does your spirit remain on Earth? Or more simply, does your body decompose from whence it came? Welcome to the existential interest, a new blog where I wax philosophical on the deepest human questions. Nah. Just kidding. Who knows what happens after you die? Not me. Unless, of course, the topic is estate planning and what happens to your finances after you die. I'm starting to spend more time on the best interest writing about deeper financial planning issues. Estate planning is a big one. So let's start with the basics of estate planning. The basics of estate planning. If the context hasn't clued you in, estate planning answers the question, what happens to your assets when you die or if you get incapacitated? Your first big takeaway today, most people don't think about the incapacitation part. Who is given your assets? When are they given? How are they given? Who is involved? Attorney, accountants, etcetera. Estate planning is almost always done with an attorney. CFP financial planners are frequently involved too. The main goals are to ensure that your money goes where you want, to the people and the causes that mean most to you, your beneficiaries and heirs aren't saddled with an unexpected estate tax or gift tax, and your assets are invested in an appropriate fashion based on your wishes and associated timelines. The documents. Estate planning involves many legal documents, but thankfully, there are a basic set of three. Number one, a will plus guardianship. A will states how you wish to distribute your assets, and guardianship, which is often included in a will, is about your children and other dependents. What will happen to them and who will care for them after your death or in the event you're no longer able to care for them? Number two, power of attorney or POA, sometimes called financial POA or durable POA, gives legal rights to …