How to have an estate planning conversation with loved ones

A personalized and productive estate planning discussion with loved ones can create transparency and trust as you move toward achieving your legacy goals. It gives you the opportunity to explain your decision-making process and how it connects to your values. 

An Ameriprise financial advisor will help you plan for and facilitate the discussion when the time comes.

Here’s an approach to creating a healthy family estate planning conversation that can also help provide comfort to your loved ones. 

In this article:

• Determine who should be part of the conversation 
• Establish how you want to explain your goals and values 
• Have an agenda
• Look for ways to draw people into the discussion
• Consider bringing in help

Determine who should be part of the conversation

Carefully select and invite those who should be in attendance. This should include your closest loved ones, any heirs, as well as the person you’ve chosen (or plan to ask) to be your executor or trustee if they are not part of your immediate family. Also consider including a financial advisor as a facilitator to help structure a productive discussion.

Establish how you want to explain your goals and values

This is an opportunity to clearly articulate the financial goals and values that have informed your plan – and explain the reasoning behind your decisions. These questions will help guide the discussion: 

• What are your values concerning money and where did they come from?
• What are your biggest priorities in an estate plan?
•  What are your greatest hopes and most significant concerns regarding what happens to your estate? 
• What are the causes, charities, or philanthropic endeavors you care about most? 
• Do you have specific wishes with how your beneficiaries use their inheritance? 
• Do you have any concerns about your heir’s ability to manage their inheritance? 

Have an agenda

Defining an agenda can help prioritize the topics and issues you want to cover.

One key outcome of the meeting is to ensure the participants understand their responsibilities after you’re gone — and whether they are comfortable with their respective roles. For example, does your executor or trustee know what will be expected of them? Is the beneficiary of an investment account comfortable managing such assets? 

As part of this discussion, explain the people and resources available to help and how to access them upon your passing.

Look for ways to draw people into the discussion

The most productive meetings are conversations. Provide plenty of opportunities for feedback and to elicit potential concerns or questions. 
 
Here are a few questions to stimulate engagement:

• Is there anything that surprised the group about the estate plan or the thinking behind it? 
• Are the details of the plan clear?
• How do we avoid any unintended vagueness or messiness?
• Are there any gaps in the estate plan that need to be addressed?

Consider bringing in help

Regardless of your family situation and complexity of the estate, professionals can help. Your financial advisor will help you plan the meeting and facilitate the conversation, and your estate attorney can explain the legal aspect of more complicated trusts or other strategies. In particularly complex or contentious situations, it may be worthwhile to hire a professional mediator to join your advisor and attorney to help guide the discussion.