A “Bucket” List is a list of things that people want to do before they kick the bucket. It usually contains daredevil or exotic activities, like skydiving or visiting Paris. Some people have started to create summer bucket lists — things they hope to do during the upcoming summer. My summer bucket list is both: I want to complete our estate plan before I kick the bucket and before the end of summer.
Why?
I recently attended my son’s graduation from preschool — a practice I used to think was kind of silly. Until I was one of the parents in attendance. They play a meaningful role in our lives, marking the time that has passed so quickly.
One thing that I thought we would do before my son was in kindergarten was to have my Will and my husband’s Will in place. Believe it or not, but we don’t have our estate plan in order.
What’s that they say about the cobbler’s children?
I could list off all of the excuses I made to myself as to why we didn’t get this done. One of the reasons why I wrote about What Happens If You Don’t Choose a Guardian? was for me. I wanted to know what would happen if my husband and I died without a Will. I don’t care about our property and assets nearly as much as I care about what would happen to our children.
Thankfully, we have provided for our children through life insurance policies, but we have not named guardians for them. We also haven’t created trusts or named trustees for the funds that would be dispersed from our life insurance. We also haven’t done any tax planning, which would make it easier to use the tax advantages available to married couples.
All of those concerns should be addressed with a thorough estate plan — one that names our children’s guardian, holds their assets in trust until they are able to make their own financial decisions, and gives our assets tax protection so our children can inherit as much as possible.
I know that thinking about death is a pretty morbid lens in which to view my child’s preschool graduation, but the truth of the matter is that I wouldn’t be thinking about death if I had already done our estate plan. To that end, I’m putting it on my summer “bucket list” of things I would like to do. That way, I won’t spend my son’s first day of kindergarten thinking about what would happen to him if anything happens to us.
Image courtesy of Simon Howden at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
*Part of Financially Savvy Saturdays on brokeGIRLrich, A Disease Called Debt and One More Broke Twenty-Something*
Gary @ Super Saving Tips says
July 4, 2015 at 2:48 pmI don’t think anyone really wants to think about their own death, but we all need to be prepared, especially when we have children. My children are grown, but my wife wanted to make sure we had our documents in order. So in addition to wills, we have living wills/healthcare POA’s, and a list of our major accounts and insurance policies. We made sure that a trusted relative (my mother-in-law) knows where we keep them. Also we discussed what final arrangements we would like. It’s not a pleasant task, but I feel secure knowing that if something happens, I’ve done what I could.
Rebecca says
July 6, 2015 at 12:00 pmGary, that is very true — a healthcare proxy and power of attorney are also important documents to have ready “just in case.” Keeping a list of insurance policies and account numbers is also really helpful. I’m not sure I’ve told anyone where I keep that information, so now I will; thanks for the reminder!
Mel says
July 4, 2015 at 5:48 pmI actually don’t think it’s morbid at all to think about death and make sure you’ve got everything in order ESPECIALLY if you have children. I don’t even have any and I still have a will and the best intentions of putting together a binder that covers everything my parents would need to take care of if I died – including my burial wishes (I’m kind of a green burial nut and even though they know that, I don’t think they actually know what to do if something did happen).
Rebecca says
July 6, 2015 at 12:03 pmMel, With such specific burial wishes, it’s good that you have it on your radar to collect some information for your parents. I don’t know much about green burial, so now I’m really curious what it entails. If you ever want to get that info together into an article, I’m happy to have you guest post it here!
Sylvia @Professional Girl says
July 4, 2015 at 9:07 pmI think that is a great idea to do estate planning when your children are young. Like you said, you don’t want to be thinking about the “what ifs” when you should be celebrating your sons first day of school or some other special moment.
Rebecca says
July 6, 2015 at 12:08 pmThanks! I hope everything will be in place by September.
Hayley @ Disease Called Debt says
July 5, 2015 at 9:20 amWe don’t have a Will in place at all! Even though we don’t have many assets to speak of, I can see there are other reasons for doing this, such as naming a guardian for our daughter.
Rebecca says
July 6, 2015 at 12:08 pmOur kids are our best motivators — whether they know it or not.
Alexandra @ Real Simple Finances says
July 5, 2015 at 3:34 pmWhen I worked at a bank, death was always on my radar. Dealing with family members quoting verbal promises that grandma’s money was going to so-and-so were difficult to deal with — not only did they have to mourn grandma, but she hadn’t actually made a will and people often left the bank empty-handed. I don’t think it’s morbid at all to focus on something so important to your son during this milestone! In fact, I may make my own summer bucket list with a similar goal now that I am expecting my first in December.
Rebecca says
July 6, 2015 at 12:06 pmThat is such a difficult situation to be in — for everyone! Death unfortunately can uncover some age-old resentments and feelings.
K @ One More BROKE TWENTY-SOMETHING says
July 8, 2015 at 3:49 amI don’t have any kids, but this is definitely something I need to consider for my parents and loved ones I’d be leaving behind.