5 simple steps to planning your estate

If you’ve never experienced the death of an immediate family member, I’m happy life hasn’t thrown you that particular curveball, yet. If you have, you probably know that things can sometimes get messy when it comes to dealing with the estate of a deceased family member.

According to WhatsYourGrief, an online resource that helps individuals through the grieving process, the number one source of conflict following the death of a family member is fighting over material possessions:

“In many (many, many) instances people do not discuss their end-of-life wishes and estate plans for many (many, many) understandable reasons,” their family psychology experts write. “This doesn’t always cause a problem. However, if the estate turns out to be surprising or unfair, those who are surprised or left out may interpret their loved one’s decisions as a statement of love or value (whether it is rational or not). Worse, it may cause confusion, questioning, resentment, or bitterness among surviving family members. Unfortunately, the only person who can explain the decision is gone and so people are left to try to make sense of things on their own.”

 

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