Bringing up estate planning with your parents can feel awkward. Most people don’t want to talk about money, health, or what happens when they’re gone. But not having an estate plan can leave everyone scrambling when something unexpected happens. Having a conversation now makes everything easier when it matters most.
When to Have the Conversation
Choose a quiet, relaxed time when no one’s distracted. Ideally, do it in person so it’s easier to read tone and body language. Otherwise, don’t wait to have the conversation.
The best time to create an estate plan is before an emergency. In a crisis, it’s harder to think clearly, and important decisions can easily end up rushed or made under pressure.
Sometimes waiting too long means it’s too late to do anything. A requirement for creating or updating an estate plan is legal capacity. If your parents lose that capacity, no one (not their spouse or adult children) can make or change their estate plan for them with very few exceptions.
If they lose capacity without a valid power of attorney, no one would be able to file their taxes, negotiate with their insurance provider, or access their accounts to pay their bills. At that point, your family may have to go to court, which takes time and money, and a judge would decide who can do those things, rather than your parent deciding.
How to Approach the Conversation
Talking about estate planning doesn’t need to be a big, formal sit-down. Approaching it that way might make your parents feel pressured or as if you’re lecturing them. Keep it light but respectful. (I included ideas below of how to strike this balance!)
The key is to remember that the goal isn’t to tell your parents what to do with their assets. It’s to protect their wishes. Once they see that your heart is in the right place, the conversation often gets much easier.
What to Say to Start the Conversation
We’ve found that the most effective and natural way to bring it up is to talk about your own estate plan:
“I met with an attorney to do my estate plan. I feel a lot better knowing everything is the way I’d want it if something happened. Have you looked at your plan recently?”
Focusing first on your plan and your experience creating it takes a lot of the pressure off.
Whatever you decide to say, start small just to open the door. Another option is to say something like:
“I want to make sure your wishes are honored and that we’re prepared if something ever happens.”
Georgia Estate Planning Essentials
Last Will and Testament
Ask your parents if they have a Will. If they do, ask when they last reviewed it. Many people sign a Will and never look at it again. Sometimes so much has changed in the meantime that it’s no longer valid under Georgia law, or it no longer reflects what they’d want today.
Some of the things a valid Georgia Will allows your parents to do include:
- Decide who will inherit their assets
- Name someone they trust to follow their wishes
- Appoint guardians for children under the age of 18
Revocable Trust (When it Makes Sense)
Some families create a Revocable Living Trust. It allows your parents to stay in control of their assets while naming someone to take over when needed.
Some of the things a Revocable Living Trust can do include:
- Avoid probate
- Keep financial details private
- Make things easier for the person in charge
- Lay out exactly how and when assets are distributed
If your parents want to make things as easy as possible for their loved ones, a Revocable Living Trust is certainly worth discussing.
Financial Power of Attorney
A Financial Power of Attorney lets your parents decide who can handle their financial and legal matters if they ever can’t. Without it, your family may have to go through a court process where a judge ultimately makes that decision for them.
Advance Directive for Health Care
An Advance Directive combines a living will and healthcare power of attorney. It lets your parents choose who can make medical decisions if they can’t communicate, and it outlines certain preferences for their care.
Help Them Get Organized
Encourage your parents to keep important information in one place, and make sure at least one person knows where to find it. Some of the information they’ll want to gather includes:
- Estate plan
- Bank and investment accounts
- Insurance policies
- Real estate deeds
- Vehicle titles
- Digital accounts and passwords
- Contact information for key advisors, such as their attorney, accountant, and financial advisor
Speak With an Experienced Georgia Estate Planning Attorney
At Thrift McLemore, we help Georgia families create estate plans that reflect their goals, protect what they’ve built, and support the people they love most through life’s toughest moments.
Call us at 678-882-0830 or click here to schedule a consultation with one of our Atlanta estate planning attorneys.
