There are also some other important questions to ask yourself, going into the new year. The three that come to mind are: Who would make my medical decisions for me if I were not able to do so? Who would handle my financial affairs if something happened to me? Who will get my assets when I am gone?
If the answer to those three questions are: “I don’t know” - then you probably need some estate planning advice.
But beware - make sure you know what kind of advice you are receiving. Jay Adkisson, a partner of Riser Adkisson LLP is a Forbes magazine contributor and his article (Forbes, 11/12/2014) entitled, “Beware: The Estate Planning Aggregators And Their Planning Blueprints” is an eye opener!
In his article, Adkisson explains: what is an aggregator; how do you know you are dealing with an aggregator; what they do (or more importantly what they do not do); and what you might be paying for and expecting, but not receiving (according to the article, some ‘aggregator’ services can charge $40,000 for their services).
You can access the entire article via the following link http://onforb.es/10YSoC4 or do a search on Forbes on line Forbes-Personal Finance 11/12/2014
One piece of worthy advice is to seek legal counsel about your estate planning needs from a trusted estate planning professional. You can get information and check the qualifications of an estate planning attorney from various sources - the State Bar Association (in your state; e.g. State Bar of Colorado); from the American Bar Association (ABA); from AVVO – a ‘ranking’ of attorney qualifications; Super Lawyers.com – another site for lawyers who have achieved excellence in their field of law (by state and by practice area); from ACTEC, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; and from the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.
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