Contributed by: Josh Bitel, CFP®
A letter of last instruction is an often overlooked element of estate planning. While more popular documents, such as your Will, are critical in showing an overview of how your estate plan should be managed and distributed after you are gone, your letter of last instruction offers more detail on the specifics of your life. Among the important items in this letter are funeral preferences, login information for any electronic data your heirs may need access to, preferred care for pets and veterinarian contact information, and private messages to loved ones. These are just some of the items a letter of last instruction can provide that aren’t normally covered in other documents.
Here at The Center, we recently updated the letter of last instruction and personal record keeping templates we provide to clients. These can be intimidating at first glance, over 50 pages between the two, but committing just 20-30 minutes per week and chipping away at these documents until they are finished can go a long way in providing your family the information they will need to meet your wishes after death.
These documents are important to share with your financial planner as well, as part of your team, we can assist in working with your heirs to carry out your wishes when you are gone. Starting the conversation around these topics can be tricky, but they are important. Contact us at The Center if you like some assistance in this area.
Josh Bitel, CFP® is an Associate Financial Planner at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® He conducts financial planning analysis for clients and has a special interest in retirement income analysis.