You always think about your kids’ and grandkids’ futures. It might feel like the summer just got started, but August is around the corner … which means that back-to-school season is creeping up on us. But even while your kids prepare for their future in school, you’re often thinking a step ahead. What colleges are they going to attend? What type of future awaits them?
When you’re gone, you may not be able to provide guidance on their decisions, but you can provide financial support. An estate plan can ensure your future generations have the right tools to thrive, and an excellent estate plan can ensure these tools aren’t used wrong.
If you want your kids to receive higher education, and you want your estate plan to help pay for it, here’s how to ensure your funds are used exactly as you intend.
How you define “education” matters.
Learning comes in all sorts of forms. From universities to certification courses, there are a lot of ways that your child can learn in order to prepare for a career.
So, what does education really mean? You don’t want other people to decide. It’s up to you, right now, to define “education” and how your inheritance is distributed for your children’s education in your estate plan.
We have clients who leave the definition open by including every type of learning experience into their own definition, including international learning programs and local yoga classes. We also have clients who define “education” in very specific terms, such as University of California schools only, or even specific schools like UCLA.
Now let’s say, after your passing, your child meets your qualifications to have their education paid for. Are you paying for every term? Are summer courses included? And, importantly, is room and board being covered? Would it be covered in the summer as well? Listing everything that you want paid for is crucial, even down to details like books.
If your estate planning attorney isn’t asking you for these specifics, they’re doing your family a disservice. In the future, these are the types of details that really matter. Defining “education” and all related expenses may seem like a simple task – but it can greatly affect the impression that your legacy leaves behind.
How do you ensure you get it right?
As a family-owned law firm, it’s our top priority to make sure that your Revocable Living Trust was set up with the best planning possible. We make sure to ask all the right questions that could affect your kids’ happiness in the future.
Make your estate planning part of your back-to-school planning and give our offices a call!
Dahl Law Group
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