WILLS, TRUSTS, HEALTH CARE directives, POWERS OF ATTORNEY, and LEGAL GUARDIAN nominations are on many of our hearts and minds as COVID-19 compels us to FACE our own FRAGILITY and MORTALITY.

While MOST people ASSUME only the uber wealthy NEED to WORRY about asset PROTECTION, those with LESS wealth and FEWER assets may be at even GREATER risk. For example, if you’re a multi-millionaire, a $50,000 judgment against you might not be that big of a burden. But for a family with a modest income, home, and savings, it could be catastrophic.

Today, we want to FOCUS on one of the major RISKS of not being “in the KNOW” when it comes to your PARENTS’ ESTATE planning MATTERS: the undue INFLUENCE of bad ACTORS.

Following the DEATH of the policy HOLDER, the way in which PROCEEDS from a LIFE insurance POLICY are paid TO the BENEFICIARY (or beneficiaries) is KNOWN as the SETTLEMENT option. And you might be surprised to learn that there are a variety of settlement options available besides the most common method—a lump-sum payout.

If YOU or your PARENTS have a RETIREMENT account, (or any investment accounts for that matter) NOW is the TIME to get CONNECTED to how those ACCOUNTS are INVESTED. While you may have OUTSOURCED all of this to a BROKER in the PAST, YOU can NO longer AFFORD to ALLOW your INVESTMENTS to be made WITHOUT your clear UNDERSTANDING of exactly WHAT you are INVESTING in, HOW and whether YOUR investments ALIGN with your PLANS for the FUTURE.

NVESTING in LIFE INSURANCE is a foundational part of estate PLANNING. However, when naming your POLICY’S BENEFICIARIES, there are a number of MISTAKES you can make that could lead to potentially dire CONSEQUENCES for the very people you’re trying to PROTECT and SUPPORT.

As you already know, the COVID-19 pandemic means nothing is BUSINESS as usual. Many states, including OHIO, have implemented a “SHELTER-IN-PLACE” order to LIMIT the SPREAD of the DISEASE. If you have attended to your (and your parents’) immediate needs, it will be time to consider more long term precautions.

In many FAMILIES, MONEY still is not a typical dinner table DISCUSSION, but we think it should be. Surprisingly, this is especially true when it comes to affluent PARENTS. And, we HOPE to CHANGE it because one of the most IMPORTANT things you can do is TALK to your KIDS (and your parents) about MONEY.

Do your PARENTS have an estate PLAN? Is it up to DATE? No matter how RICH or POOR you or your parents are, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, YOU need to be ASKING these and several other QUESTIONS. When your parents become INCAPACITATED or DIE, their AFFAIRS will become your RESPONSIBILITY , and it will be IMPOSSIBLE to ASK them to CLARIFY anything. So, if you do not know whether or not they have estate planning in place that will help you best support them, read on.

With four confirmed deaths in OHIO from CORONAVIRUS, the state has taken many PRECAUTIONS to keep the numbers from rising. COLLEGES including MIAMI UNIVERSITY and UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI have moved to online classes and suspended face-to-face instruction. Cincinnati’s St. Paddy’s Day Parade and the CINCINNATI RED’S Opening Day, have both been cancelled/postponed due to the coronavirus. Even huge money makers, like the NBA, have terminated their season.

Both WILLS and TRUSTS are estate planning documents that can be used to pass your WEALTH and PROPERTY to your loved ones upon your death. However, TRUSTS come with some distinct ADVANTAGES over WILLS that you should consider when creating your plan.

Earlier this week, we shared the first part of this series on the DANGERS of do-it-yourself estate planning. Here, we’ll look at how ONLINE legal DOCUMENTS can even put your MINOR CHILDREN at RISK.