Estate Planning Basics for Veterans

Estate planning is an important matter that must be dealt with for one’s peace of mind. You might think that this is only a task for the wealthy, but we believe that it is for anyone that has loved ones and properties they deem worthy to protect.

Are you worried about what’s going to happen to your loved ones? Who’s going to care for your children and is there a possibility to support them even after you’re gone? Are you sure about what’s going to happen to your property and who’s going to inherit them?

And finally, who’s going to take care of your financial and health needs the moment that you can’t do them on your own anymore? Well, you can always consider payday loans for veterans for the cash, but for a more solid alternative, we suggest setting up an estate plan.

What Is an Estate Plan?

It is an encompassing plan that secures a veteran or a surviving spouse’s will if something happens to them. It may include the following:

A Power of Attorney

This is a legal document that allows another individual to act on your behalf on making important financial or legal decisions in case you couldn’t.

Your Will

There are two types of Wills:

1. A Living Will
2. A Last Will and Testament

A Living Will includes procedures you want or you don’t want to be done on your behalf in case of terminal illness or serious injury such as a motorcycle accident.

For instance, if you want to make organ donation arrangements, or if you don’t want to be resuscitated, then this is the document to prepare. A last will and testament, on the other hand, ensures that your decisions are followed after your death. Without a last will and testament, the government will be the one to decide who cares for your children and what happens to your properties.

Insurance

There are different insurance plans that an estate plan may include but the most popular ones are disability, long-term care, and life insurance.

Funeral Arrangements

 Finally, having an estate plan means that your family won’t have to worry about funeral arrangements anymore at the time of your departure because you’ve already taken care of all of it. All they need to do is to send you off.

How To Set-up an Estate Plan

The first step is to find an estate planning attorney that you can trust to help you handle your affairs. You can ask the assistance of the United States Armed Forces Legal Assistance Office for that. They have an online tool you can access to locate the nearest legal assistance offices in your current location.

After that, you can work closely together with your attorney in order to patch up the pieces that you deem important in your estate plan. Please keep in mind, though, that each of these involves much paperwork and processing.

Other Veteran Benefits That You Should Be Aware of

Aside from the parts of an estate plan that we have mentioned above, a veteran and his surviving spouse may also look into applying for a Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension. This plan can provide up to over a thousand dollars of financial assistance to the veteran or the surviving spouse as long as they’re proven eligible.

So, Who’s Eligible?

Here’s a quick checklist of eligibility requirements:

• The veteran must have served for at least 90 days of active duty.
• This duty must have started or ended during a war.
• The veteran must have less than $80,000 in assets (this doesn’t include your house and your car)
• For additional medical assistance, then the veteran must be medically qualified
• Finally, the surviving spouse of a veteran that met all the above-mentioned details are eligible as well

You Deserve It

Unfortunately, not every veteran gets to enjoy the benefits that they deserve. Some are misinformed, others don’t have anyone they can rely on to help them process the necessary requirements, while there are some that simply don’t bother at all.

But we urge you to do so because you deserve it. You did the country a great service and it’s your right to be acknowledged and granted these honors in return. Please allow the country to return the favor and provide a great service to you and your family as well.