Paperwork That Can't Wait: Your Will & Trust

My husband and I recently did this fun, romantic exercise called estate planning. But more on that in a minute. As you can see from this blog, my "estate" of treasured possessions pretty much consists of favorite nail polish colors, cheap sunglasses and clothespins. So I always thought (without giving it any actual thought) if you're lucky enough to inherit my stuff, your next rational move would probably be to call 1 800 Got Junk, consoled by the fact that at least everything's already organized in plastic tubs. Having kids changes that. Who do I want to take care of them when I'm gone and, financially, how do I imagine that all working?

Long story short, we ended up at an estate lawyer and it was an eye-opening experience. It wasn't just about doing a will -- there are actually a bunch of documents that make up an estate plan for your family. I'm not a lawyer and this is not necessarily complete, but here's a rundown of what I did (much of it plagiarized straight from my own estate plan):

Revocable Living Trust - The foundation of your estate plan. Instructions for care of you and your family in case you're disabled, and distribution of your assets upon death. After it is created, you have to fund the trust, or transfer assets into it. An example of funding would be to name the trust as your beneficiary instead of your spouse on your 401k.

Financial Power of Attorney - A document that authorizes your agent to transfer property to your living trust and manage your financial affairs should you become unable to do so.

Advanced Health Care Directive (Living Will) - Authorizes release of health info to designated persons. Authorizes your designated agent to make medical decisions when you cannot. The living will part informs doctors of your end-of-life medical wishes.

Pour Over Will - This is your will, which transfers to your living trust any assets you do not transfer to it during your life.

Nominations - Names of persons appointed to act on your behalf in various capacities.

Memorial Instructions - Your personal wishes as to burial or cremation services.

Property Agreements - These govern the form of ownership of property owned by you and your spouse.

So, the whole planning process took about a month to complete... and that's when my husband and I had all the fun and romance mentioned above. When he gets to pull the plug on me. Which family member gets to take care of our Dear Darlings if our plane goes down. Where that final resting place should be. The best part of it all? It's done - it's signed - it's notarized. Now that's one big, BIG thing I don't have to worry about.... because peace of mind about her kids is the most useful thing a mommy can have in her house.