Choosing a successor trustee can sound simple until you picture the person actually doing the job. If you can no longer serve as trustee, your successor trustee steps in to manage the trust. That means paying bills, handling accounts, dealing with property, keeping records, communicating with beneficiaries and following the instructions you left behind. The person you’re closest to might be a great choice…or be completely wrong for the role. What Will They Actually Have to Do

Choosing someone to care for your children if you’re no longer able to is a deeply personal part of estate planning. The hardest part is that the person who feels right in one area may be less ideal in another. A sibling may share your values but live across the country, while a close friend who knows your children well but already has a demanding household. Rather than looking for a perfect replacement for you, focus on who could give your children a stable, loving home and

Estate planning is easy to postpone when you’re raising a young family. Work, children, household expenses and day-to-day responsibilities are already competing for your attention. Creating a will or trust isn’t exactly top-of-mind, and it’s something that can be put off until later. As your family grows, though, the decisions surrounding an estate plan become harder to ignore. Having children, buying a home and building savings introduce questions that probably weren’t par