In this Elder Law Minute, Kaye DeSelms Dent stresses the importance of discussing your estate plan with adult children to avoid future confusion and conflict.
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Video Transcript:
Hi, I’m Kaye DeSelms Dent with Dent Coulson Elder Law, here with an Elder Law Minute for you. These videos are intended to educate you about the elder care journey, which begins earlier in life than you might think. We hope that you find them useful, and if you have further questions, please call us at Dent Coulson Elder Law.
Today, I’d like to remind people that as your kids become adults—I know they’re still your kids, I’ve got young adult children—it’s probably time to start talking to them about your plans for your future. As an adult child myself, and now mother of an adult child and more than one, I think it’s important to give your kids at least—and I use the term ‘kids’ loosely, of course—give your kids some guidance on what plans you have made and what role, if any, they might be playing in those plans.
It’s very difficult for adult children who are caught off guard to kind of roll with the changes, so to speak. If they don’t know what role they’re supposed to be playing, where important documents are, what your goals are, you can actually inadvertently cause a lot of family drama. As a group, you have two or three, maybe more, children who see your documents for the first time in the attorney’s office—or one of them, who’s in charge, has gone to the attorney’s office and then tells everybody else the way it is, and it’s a surprise to everyone else. There are questions. There can be accusations at worst, and it’s a lot easier if everyone knows from the get-go: Hey, I have a plan, or Dad and I have a plan. This is who’s in charge. This is how it’s going to be executed. These are—this is our attorney, our financial advisor. These are the people that you’ll need to go to for more information as time goes on.
But if something happens to me, Bobby’s in charge. Susie, you’re next up at bat. Billy, sorry. You have never been good at this stuff. You’re not going to be the one. And obviously, you don’t necessarily have to be that harsh, but it is important that—I think—that your adult children understand what might be coming down the pike so that they can be prepared and ready to act if and when the time comes.
If you’d like more help in developing an estate plan, and maybe even discussing how to communicate it to your children, we here at Dent Coulson Elder Law are happy to help. Just give us a call.
Contact Us for Assistance
Thank you for watching our Elder Law Minute. If you need help with powers of attorney or any other estate planning needs, please call Dent Coulson Elder Law.
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“Your Trusted Advisor on the Elder Care Journey”
Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (618) 632-7000 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
