In order to have a smooth transition, you want to make sure you take care of all end of life matters in a quick, efficient way. This means planning in advance, crafting a strong estate plan and writing all necessary legal documents.
This includes your will. But just writing it is not enough. You should also consider discussing it in person with your family.
Break up discussion topics
Market Watch discusses how to bring the matter of your will up with your family. This is a difficult topic to broach for many reasons. It involves complex and emotional matters. Your loved ones likely do not want to think about the possibility of you dying. No one wants to face reminders of their own mortality. But discussing your will in advance can help you cut down on misunderstandings and other related issues.
When you begin to tackle the matter, start by planning out your discussions in advance. Experts suggest writing down an outline for everything you want to talk about. They also recommend breaking up topics into several different conversations. After all, you have a lot of ground to cover and you do not want information to end up muddled.
Set a date
You also want to set a separate date and time to actually hold the conversations. Your loved ones will react better if they have time to prepare for the subject matter in advance. Many people have started discussing wills and estate plans over family dinners, making an evening out of a somewhat morbid topic.
Understand not everyone will react well to the idea of holding these discussions. Do not pressure your loved ones into attending them, but work with the people who are willing to listen.