The Importance of Estate Planning

Estate planning documents help guide your family members and loved ones to understand and carry out asset disposition and your care and end-of-life wishes. Most importantly, an estate plan can help reduce family burden and stress. While the majority of adults believe estate planning is important, only one-third have actually created one. In fact, surveys show that nearly 40 percent of respondents stated they felt the amount of assets were not enough to warrant an estate plan and that those who are over 55 years of age do not have a will, a living will or health care directives.

According to research from Fidelity, 92 percent of parents expect one of their children to assume the role of executor of their estate, yet 27 percent of the children expected to fill this role don’t know about it. Similarly, 69 percent of parents expect one of their children to help manage their finances in retirement – yet 36 percent of the kids identified as filling this role didn’t know about their parents’ expectations or plans.

Hear from a legal expert and senior advisor about the importance of estate planning and how beneficial it is for individuals and families to ensure the best outcomes.

Click to listen to this episode:

Tune in for insights and resources from Donald M. Lewinski, III, Esq., MBA

About Donald:

Don is an attorney and co-owner of CarePatrol of Buffalo Niagara Rochester Syracuse and most recently CarePatrol of Erie and the Southern Tier. He is Of Counsel at The Law Office of Corey J. Rossi where he focuses on estate planning, probate matters, guardianships, real estate, commercial litigation and business matters. Many of the matters that Don handles in his legal practice help him better assist seniors and their families evaluate senior living options through CarePatrol across Western and Central New York and Western Pennsylvania.

Prior to starting his offices of CarePatrol, Don practiced law in Pennsylvania and New York for over ten years, working in both private practice law firms and corporate legal departments (including publicly traded and start-up companies), with a focus on commercial litigation, contracts, estate planning, compliance and employment matters. His professional background allows Don to work with seniors and their families to help navigate through any legal, financial, insurance and tax issues that arise during this process to ensure that families are utilizing all available resources when selecting the right senior living community.

As both an attorney and owner of CarePatrol, Don has been involved in hundreds of crisis situations and has helped families and organizations when they were facing their most difficult times. Don’s unique background in working with individuals, families, small companies and large publicly traded corporations provides him with the ability to help his clients and families through all types of difficult life situations. Don acknowledges that one cannot always plan for the unknown. However, estate planning is one example of the ability to ensure that difficult life situations can be made less stressful for individuals and their families.

Show Notes

What is an estate plan, and why is it important to have in place, especially for older adults
Documents that make up a basic estate plan
When estate plan documents are especially important and when they may not apply
Other documents/legal issues that are important to consider
Estate Planning myths
How to start the conversation with your older loved ones
Considerations when hiring an attorney and the typical process

Episode Resources

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