Thinking proactively about the future is the most important element of good financial health. But while coming up with an investment plan to help you generate income is usually an easy conversation to have with an advisor, estate planning can sometimes be a different story. It’s normal to feel a touch uneasy about making plans for what will happen to your finances when you are no longer here.

That’s why it’s essential to have an advisor you can trust when coming up with an estate plan. At Astra Fiduciary Services, we help clients and families develop unique estate plans that serve their needs — and we act as trusted confidants who can guide people through a challenging, necessary discussion. Here are a few key tips to help ensure your estate planning process is a success.

Involving the Whole Family

An estate plan affects more than one person; it involves the entire family. In our experience, one of the biggest mistakes people make when crafting estate plans is failing to have their family members present during the process.

The truth is that an estate plan is more than just a document. Inheritance is a process involving multiple individuals, and it’s essential not to ignore these human elements of the process. An estate plan that doesn’t account for family dynamics from the start may fall apart when the plan is actually being put into place. By involving the whole family, you not only ensure everyone is on the same page, but you are also able to craft an estate plan that better serves you and your family’s needs — which is the whole reason for the plan in the first place.

Embracing the Planning Process

Every family’s goals and finances are different, which is why there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all estate plan. Instead of thinking of an estate plan as a document that gets drawn up over the course of one meeting, we treat estate planning as the beginning of a custom, unique process for you and your family. A detailed estate plan will probably take more than one meeting to create; the conversations you have as a family, and with your advisor, will help determine the specific shape of the plan. Once the plan is crafted, it should be thought of as a living document that can be changed over time.

Building a Trusted Advisor Relationship

One benefit of taking a more proactive approach to estate planning is the opportunity to establish a deeper level of trust with your advisor. Building trust will pay off in the long run. After all, an estate plan is ultimately a generational strategy that touches on many different generations of a family.

By involving family members in the planning process at the outset, and by treating the estate plan as a document that can change with the times, you are ultimately building a better relationship with your advisor. And the more familiar an advisor becomes with your family, the better they’ll be able to serve your needs.

Estate Plans and Peace of Mind

Thinking about what happens to your assets when you are no longer here is never easy. But it’s worth thinking about the alternative: If you haven’t left a clear plan for your family, it’s your loved ones who are tasked with figuring out what to do with your assets during a time of grief. No one wants to be put in that stressful situation. At its core, a well-crafted estate plan is a gift for the entire family: providing ease, comfort, and the peace of mind that accompanies a trusted plan.

Interested in learning more about what crafting an estate plan entails? Our team of experienced advisors is happy to walk you through the process and share more about our philosophy. Get in touch with us today to learn how we can help serve your family — for this generation and the next.