Beyond the Numbers: Non-Financial Estate Planning Essentials

Estate planning goes well beyond the numbers.

While financial assets and investments often take center stage in discussions about estate plans, non-financial information is equally crucial. This may include your personal values, end-of-life wishes, and key personal details that can significantly impact your loved ones.

Families that successfully transition their wealth across generations often share a few key habits: they establish and adhere to their core values, anticipate and handle conflicts, foster and encourage lifelong learning, and keep the lines of communication open. As advisors who are experienced in working with multigenerational families, our team can offer valuable guidance to help ensure your family’s future success.

In May, we shared Later is Now, a checklist you can use to gather your most important financial documents and information in one place. We created an accompanying piece, Beyond the Numbers, to serve as a guide to help you document and share your critical non-financial information as you see fit.*

This month’s article expands on that guide, outlining three key reasons to begin identifying and communicating your non-financial essentials today.

Click here to read this month’s list of 4 simple action items.

1. Clarifying Your Personal Values and Wishes

One of the most meaningful benefits of non-financial estate planning is clarifying and communicating your personal values and wishes. These include your preferences for medical care, funeral arrangements, and other end-of-life decisions. If your loved ones are aware of your choices, they can make decisions that align with your requests when the time comes.

By documenting these preferences in advance, you can ease the burden on your family members, who may otherwise struggle with making difficult decisions during an emotionally challenging time. Having a clear plan in place keeps your loved ones from having to make painful decisions in your absence. It gives those who follow you clarity and comfort and helps alleviate their feelings of guilt or confusion. Sharing your wishes also means that when the time comes, your family’s personal feelings or opinions do not override your wishes.

Beyond the Numbers, along with Later is Now, can help you think through and document these important decisions. While the exact steps and plan will depend on your specific circumstances, taking the time to articulate your values and wishes can provide a new sense of contentment for both you and your loved ones.

2. Ensuring a Smooth Transition and Avoiding Confusion

Another key reason to gather non-financial information is to ensure a smooth transition and avoid confusion. Compiling important personal information in one easily accessible place can significantly reduce the stress and uncertainty you and your loved ones may face during an already difficult time. We often see families scramble when there is a health or memory issue. Consider what your wishes are should you become incapacitated, particularly with dementia or related memory loss. These details could be included in a personal letter.

Alongside Later is Now, Beyond the Numbers creates an opportunity for you to pull together a comprehensive list of key point people, including your financial advisor, attorney, accountant, doctors, and insurance agents. Doing this work before a crisis—rather in the middle of one—can help you and your loved ones efficiently handle arrangements and legal matters when necessary.

We recommend using our guides to compile this information systematically. You can use them independently as you see fit, but as your trusted financial advisors, we are here to help you fill in any blanks and help ensure that nothing crucial is overlooked. By proactively organizing this information, you can provide clarity and direction for your loved ones when they need it most.

3. Preserving Your Legacy and Personal Stories

The third reason to focus on non-financial estate planning is to help preserve your legacy and personal stories for future generations. Beyond financial assets, your personal history, values, and experiences are invaluable gifts you can pass down to your loved ones. By documenting and sharing these aspects of your life, you can create a lasting impact on your family’s history and culture.

Consider writing a statement of intention or personal letter(s), or recording a video message to communicate your values, beliefs, and life lessons with your family. These can be powerful ways to convey your love and wisdom, providing comfort and guidance to your loved ones long after you are gone. Additionally, compiling a family history or creating a scrapbook of significant events and memories can help preserve your legacy and strengthen family bonds.

Archiving your personal stories and values can also serve as a source of inspiration for those who follow you. It allows your family to understand and appreciate the experiences and principles that shaped your life, fostering a deeper connection to their heritage.

Use the A Time to Talk™ 5-Step Approach

You can utilize our 5-step approach to help you move forward with intention.

1. Reflect: Do my loved ones have an adequate understanding and clarity about crucial non-financial estate planning essentials, such as my personal values or end-of-life wishes?

2. Identify: Am I intentionally avoiding conversations about my intentions beyond the numbers? Could communicating them trigger conflict or negative family dynamics?

3. Prepare: How can I plan appropriately to ensure those who follow me are properly prepared? Which resources or trusted advisors can I tap into to gather information and create a roadmap for my heirs?

4. Act: I will act on my plan to gather, organize, and share the personal, critical information my loved ones need to make informed decisions and have a clear understanding of my values and intentions.

5. Ease: I can enjoy the comfort and serenity that comes with knowing I’ve done the tedious but necessary work to compile and share the important, non-financial details my loved ones need to know.

Conclusion and Action Steps

Estate planning is not just about managing financial assets; it also involves addressing the non-financial aspects that are crucial to ensuring your end-of-life wishes are honored, providing clarity for your loved ones, and preserving your legacy.

By taking the time to identify and communicate your personal values, gather important end-of-life information, and document the stories or experiences that have shaped you most, you can create a comprehensive estate plan that encompasses all aspects of your life.

Here are some simple ways you can take action towards compiling your non-financial estate planning essentials:

• Read HT|TC’s blog: “Managing Family and Finances Proactively”
• Download your copies of HT|TC‘s Beyond the Numbers and Later is Now checklists from our website
• Begin to fill in these checklists; bring them to your next meeting with your HT|TC advisor
• Schedule time with your HT|TC advisor to discuss these checklists, our update your financial or estate plan

Remember, while our guides are intended for you to use independently, our team of professionals is here to assist you, on your own timeline and when you’re ready. Regularly reviewing your financial and estate plan and seeking guidance from our team can provide you with reassurance and help ensure you’re equipped to navigate whatever may come your way.

Together, we can help you ensure that your family’s future is protected, and that your legacy endures. The more we know, the more we can help.

(*Please note these guides are not legal documents.)

Click here to read this month’s list of 4 simple action items.

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