Part of adulting, whether we like it or not, is estate planning. We last created an estate plan about 20 years ago. This was long before our son was born, and at a time when we owned a home and were considering a vacation home. Needless to say, a lot has changed, and it would be important to update our estate plan regardless. Yet, as we head off for slow travel, our situation is vastly different than that of most Americans, and thus, so is the...
No estate plan is complete without communicating information about what to do when you pass. Providing details on burial or cremation, how to announce your passing, any service desired, and more.This was actually the most difficult part of the process, emotionally anyway, as I really don’t plan to die anytime soon. It helped me to think about this in terms of making things easy on loved ones when it eventually happens.Thankfully, GoodTrust...
While we are United States citizens, we expect to have a slow travel lifestyle for many years to come. We don’t yet know how long. A lot will depend on how well we maintain our health, if we still enjoy the travel, where our son chooses to live/work, and if grandchildren enter the picture. At this point, we are planning as if we may never return to the US. We may even choose to ultimately go into an assisted care or nursing home overseas. We...
When I think about estate planning (health proxy aside - covered elsewhere), the primary thing that comes to mind is a will or a trust. However, there are a number of ancillary legal documents that may be necessary too, depending on your particular situation. We are not lawyers and have very limited experience drafting legal documents ourselves. However, we have a strong preference for research, discussion, and making our own decisions. For...
You may know about executors, either from your own estate plans or perhaps because you have been named an executor on the will of another. However, a digital executor is a separate entity, of increasing importance in modern society. At the very least, this is due to having a social media presence of some kind. However, as we increasingly have more and more electronic assets, like financial accounts and cloud storage, designating a digital...
It’s essential to have access to money, move it around, and pay bills as long term travelers. If something goes wrong it’s not as easy as simply running down to the bank to get it resolved. In our case we have our IRA’s with two different major companies as well an account with a local Florida bank. Aside from the Financial Power of Attorney (covered elsewhere) we spent time thinking about the tactical, day to day, aspects of getting cash,...
