You have a will, Is that enough?

When planning for the unexpected you want to make sure you have everything prepared for your loved ones. What’s the best way to do this? What do you need to get in place? Who will execute your plans? A lot of people have had this thought and their remedy is to get a “Will,” but is that enough?

Most people don’t realize the difference between a Will and a Living Will. What is covered with each document and who has the right to carry out these directives? It can also become confusing to know if Power of Attorney’s coincide with Wills. Do Wills or P.O.A.’s cover any healthcare needs?  We will break each of these down individually in future articles but here is a quick summary of each one.

• Will - a document that states one’s wishes on how to distribute their property after death and who is the executor of the Will responsible for making decisions if they are no longer able to, such as being incapitated.
• Living Will - this states a person's healthcare wishes and who is responsible for making the decisions for you.
• Durable Power of Attorney - this gives someone the right to make decisions for you when you are not able to. Usually due to being incapitated in some way.
• Healthcare Power of Attorney - this gives someone the legal right to make healthcare decisions for you when you are no longer able to.

You’ve set up your Will either online or with a Lawyer and if the unexpected happens to you, your bank accounts, investment accounts and personal property have been assigned to the loved one of your choice. You’ve even been proactive and did a Living Will, along with a Durable Power of Attorney. It seems like you can “check this off the list” and forget about it. Have you forgotten anything?

It’s great that you know your hard earned money is going to the loved one of your choice, but how is that money going to actually be accessible to that person? Think about all the usernames and passwords you have to access all of your bank and investment accounts. If your son or daughter has to get into an electronic account it is going to take a significant amount of time without specific instructions.

Addio can be the simple solution for this problem. In Addio you can safely and securely save instructions for your loved ones to be able to access your accounts, when you want them to.

In your Will, you have given your house to someone, it seems simple -- they get the house, case closed. How are they going to know what utilities you pay? If you have a mortgage, where do they get the information on how to pay it? How do they know the process of paying your property taxes and homeowners insurance? These instructions are not going to be in your Will. With Addio, all these steps can be laid out for your heir to follow.

Most people have life insurance and set up a beneficiary. Does your beneficiary know the process of how to get the life insurance death benefit paid to them? Will they remember 10 years from now? With Addio, the Life Insurance process can be written out and the company or individual that needs to be contacted can be accessible to your beneficiary when you want it to be.

Addio provides your family with the proper details that a regular Will cannot do. You have a Will, but it’s not enough without Addio.