Everything You Need to Know About Estate Planning, Part 1

Salt Lake City Area Real Estate Podcast with Jodie Osofsky

Do you know much about estate planning? Fear not, we’re covering all the basics today.

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I was recently joined by my good friend and client, Eric Froisland, who is also a licensed attorney in the state of Utah. I wanted him to come by to talk about a topic that you probably have a lot of misconceptions about. I know I did. I’m talking about estate planning.
I think it’s really important for you to have an estate plan no matter who you are, and Eric agrees. Originally, I had thought the whole purpose of an estate plan is to keep the government out of your money and keep your family from fighting over your stuff. That’s part of it, but it’s a lot more complicated according to Eric.
Your will and your trust are actually what help your family decide what to do with your things. However, there are three equally important parts of your estate plan: your advanced healthcare directive, HIPAA release forms, and power of attorney. An estate plan isn’t only beneficial to your family, but it’s also beneficial to you personally. There are a lot of gray areas out there when it comes to the advanced healthcare directive that can be exploited if you don’t have a plan in place.

There’s really no right or wrong time to get started.

A lot of people want to know if they should do their estate planning online. While it’s certainly an option, Eric doesn’t recommend it. When you're sitting down with an attorney, they will cover issues that wouldn't be covered by an online estate planner. Online planners will treat you more like a number in the system.
If you have questions or want to discuss this further, please feel free to reach out to me. I’d love to hear from you.