Communication is key. Are we communicating our wishes properly to family members when preparing estate documents, to ensure our wishes are carried out in case something happens? Attorney Steve Waltar from Legacy Estate Planning joins Suzanne to talk about this aspect of financial and legal wellness, one of the eight foundational principles of senior wellness featured this summer in the Vitality Revolution podcast series.

Steve says, “I do think communication is really important. We encourage people when they sign their wills and trusts to bring in the children, or bring in whoever is the successor trustee, kind of the trusted next person in charge, to be at the actual signing. Last week, a client set up a meeting just because his daughter used to be overseas and now she’s in Colorado, and he wanted me to meet her.

“I think that’s great to actually have a meeting. My dad did that. I remember it’s a little awkward hearing your parents talk about death, and who’s in charge, and what happens. But it’s a really good way to honor your parents. If you’re on the receiving side, you just don’t put it off, don’t make it awkward. They want to share, let them do it. My client had a family meeting every year, and it kind of got long-winded. As attorneys, we’re not going to share documents with the next generation until there’s a death. But we encourage people to talk about this sort of thing.”

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR