Many people believe that they must have their finances in perfect order before they can meet with an attorney to begin the estate planning process.  Unfortunately, some people never feel as though their finances are organized enough to make an estate plan, and as a result, they put off estate planning until it is too late. If you are holding off on making an estate plan because you feel as though your finances are in disarray, it is important that you understand that organized finances are not a prerequisite for estate planning. In fact, the process of estate planning can help you to organize your finances, thereby accomplishing two important things at the same time.

There are not many people who can honestly say that their finances are perfectly organized. This is likely because having organized finances is not a one-time event. Organizing one’s finances and keeping them in order requires continuous effort. Fortunately, setting up an initial estate plan is more of a discrete task. While it is certainly true that your estate plan should be reviewed and updated periodically, especially when you experience major life changes like divorce or the birth of a child, setting up an initial estate plan is something that you do once. For this reason, estate planning may actually be easier than organizing your finances.  

The process of creating an estate plan involves making lists of your assets and your debts. The list-making process in and of itself can help you to get all of your financial information into one place. Your Phoenix Estate Planning Attorney will look at your inventory lists and suggest the estate planning tools which are appropriate for your situation and would help you accomplish your estate planning goals. Your attorney can help you to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each of the estate planning tools that are available to you, and they can also assist you in creating any documents that go along with the tools you choose to use.  Click here for more info.

You can use those same inventories of debts and assets to develop a big-picture view of your financial situation, organize your finances, and set financial goals. Once your assets and debts are assembled into lists, you may find that it is relatively easy to identify situations that you may wish to take action on now, such as refinancing your home or paying down certain debts.

 Making an estate plan can help you to organize your finances and get moving on other important financial goals like reducing your debt load. Every individual has unique estate planning needs. The best way for you to create an estate plan will meet your needs is to work with an experienced Phoenix estate planning attorney.  Find out more from the attorneys at Ariano & Taylor.