As the saying goes, “No one gets out of here alive!”   Even if you don’t think you will be leaving behind any substantial assets, think again because all of the furniture and possessions in your home and your car may total $50,000 or more.  Many years ago, an estate attorney told me that a person should have a Will (or better yet, a Living Trust) if they own at least $50,000 in assets.

Why let all your things go into probate and have Uncle Sam take a piece of the action when it is easy enough to avoid that? For the government, estate tax is often double or even triple dipping on all your hard-earned money. In my personal family situation, it was imperative to create a Living Trust for myself and a Special Needs Trust for my son, to help ensure that what he inherits is well-managed after I am gone.

And yet, people would rather plan a vacation than plan for their inevitable death. People also prefer to discuss intimate details of their sex lives over their financial worth (which is also taboo for many). Once you get over the initial queasy feeling of creating a Living Trust, it can actually provide a tremendous amount of relief, reducing the anxiety of so many “what ifs.” Living Trusts and Wills can also be amended, even informally, so no one needs to wait because they think their circumstances will change so much over time.

When most people think of organizing in general, they tend to think about a nicely organized home, garage or office space. The mind does not automatically jump to Wills and Estates.  They are abstract by definition, but they account for the very physical possessions we have and usually intend to share with our loved ones. And if you truly do care about your loved ones, you don’t want to leave them with a financial mess or mystery tour to wade through.

Based on current estate tax laws, a person may discover in planning their Will and Trust that it is better to start disbursing some of their assets while alive. But even those who don’t have hardly anything to name in a Trust, can still set one up and add to it later.  Two of my friends with disabled sons have life insurance policies for themselves, which will fund their sons’ Special Needs Trust when they pass. If you need to create a Special Needs Trust for a disabled loved one, be sure to use an attorney who specializes in these kinds of Trusts (as there is a world of difference between one who knows about every clause to put into the SNT for protective reasons, compared to an attorney who does not and is just trying to help you out.)

There are many benefits financially as well as emotionally, to getting one’s affairs in order, way ahead of when it’s actually needed. In fact, I do think that getting organized with your Will and Trust could also be an important adjunct to long-range retirement plans. A Living Trust can also protect assets if sued and can also protect inheritances in a divorce.

In the world of organizing, doing a Living Trust or Special Needs Trust is so much more important than organizing your closet or alphabetizing your spice rack, that I cannot even express that enough! Do this before any other organizing project!  For those who did not know, creating a Living Trust can keep your assets private, compared to just a Will, which can become public record. A Living Trust can also be a functional tool to let a successor Trustee handle your financial affairs (and medical decisions) if you are still alive, but incapacitated to take care of yourself. Even though many people hate to think they will have a long term illness before death, this is actually quite common and a prepared Trust, well in advance, can make everyone’s life much easier and your true wishes honored.

Author: Kartar Diamond

Company: Feng Shui Solutions ®

From the Tao of Organizing Blog Series