On June 22, 2010, Forbes published Six Estate Planning Questions For Women, by Deborah L. Jacobs.
Jacobs explains that “estate planning is a crucial part of retirement planning for women”:
Among Americans 65 and older, 42% of women but just 14% of men are widowed. Women's longer life expectancy, combined with their tendency to marry older mates and their lower lifetime earnings means they are far more likely to see their living standards compromised in retirement if proper estate planning isn't done.
Making planning all the more crucial right now is the matter of taxes.
Jacobs writes, “while estate planning concerns and involves everyone, in many cases it affects women more profoundly.” She provides six questions that everyone, especially women, should ask:
- Whom can you trust? Jacobs discusses powers of attorney.
- Who would raise your children? Here, Jacobs discusses choosing a guardian.
- Do you need life insurance?
- Do you have assets of your own? "This is an issue for spouses or others in relationships with commingled funds."
- Is there money in the bank?
- Should you shed assets to save taxes?
These questions are important and they are practical, not theoretical. They are questions that should be asked.
Jacobs’s article also provides pictures that reinforce the points made in the article. Click on the image below to go an interactive feature of this article:
If you find Jacobs’s article useful, then you will also find her book on estate planning useful: Estate Planning Smarts: A Practical, User-Friendly, Action-Oriented Guide. Jacobs keeps readers current between editions of her book by issuing updates that can be downloaded from her book's website http://www.estateplanningsmarts.com/ and tweeting at http://twitter.com/djworking.
