The most profitable years of your life where you dedicate your time working are typically referred to as your accumulation years as you are supposed to be amassing your wealth at this stage. It is during this period that most people will purchase a home, run a business, invest in life insurance and more. It is important to have these assets protected so that in the event of your demise, you can be assured that they will be passed down to who you want. To do this, you need to embark on estate planning. Here are some key considerations to have when drawing up a will.

Determine who will be your executor

The executor of your will is the individual that is in charge of bearing the responsibility of your assets after your demise. This trustee is tasked with overseeing who will benefit from your estate while also making sure that any debts you had before your death have been paid. Typically, people tend to have their spouse as their executor, but this is not a requirement. Your executor can be anybody that you trust implicitly, whether a family member, a colleague, your lawyer or a close friend.

If you have young children, it is also advisable to appoint a guardian for them in case they will not be of age when you meet your death. If you put aside a trust for the children, the guardian will be responsible for it until they are of legal age.

Establish if there are special circumstances that should be taken note of

One thing to note about estate planning is that its complexity will be based on your life. For instance, an average individual who has a nuclear family and does not own any major business could have their will executed quite quickly. On the other hand, an entrepreneur with numerous business entities and multiple partners may require some special considerations in their will to ensure that everything is distributed equitably. It should also be noted that complicated family matters could also come into play during the execution of a will.

For example, it is not uncommon to find squabbles among family member when the individual was married multiple times and has children from various spouses. Overall, when embarking on estate planning, it is crucial to let your lawyer be aware of all the aspects affecting the different facets of your life. This knowledge makes it easier to execute the will, as there will not be any surprises after your death that could lead to your will becoming contested in court.