Why You Need an Estate Plan Before Making Home Renovations
Your home has likely always been one of your top priorities. But what do you do if you worry about someone passing away? And, worse, before a home renovation project?
These projects take patience and hard work, and even with the best contractors, there’s a lot of uncertainty hanging in the air. Whether you’re a new homeowner or you’ve lived in the neighborhood for a while, having an estate plan is an important part of doing home renovations. Here are five reasons why that is.
Home Renovations Are Expensive
From the start, you could be spending tens of thousands of dollars on bathroom and kitchen remodeling. Landscaping costs thousands and getting a new roof installed will require a hefty budget as well. To know why you need an estate plan, start with learning how a basic estate plan works: the plan gives you a last will and testament, a general power of attorney, and a health care power of attorney who can help you during the process.
The attorneys will work together to make sure your wishes for your property are kept in mind in the event of your untimely disappearance. Before you get started on your project, know that home renovations are so expensive that you might only have enough funds available to start the project. With that in mind, you can see how having an estate plan will help with reassurance. You’ll have attorneys who can write up the paperwork you need. All you have to do is focus on the renovations themselves.
You Need a Will to Protect Your Property
Not only is it a home renovation project, but it’s also dangerous. For one, research shows about 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris were generated in the United States in 2018. A lot of that demolition debris comes from the aftermath of home renovation projects. But some of it comes from pure devastation.
As in, the devastation that comes from a job poorly done. If you don’t want your loved ones assuming that risk, now is the time to work with attorneys. Put together an estate plan that covers where a family member’s assets will go in the case of their incapacitation. Your loved ones will feel comfortable knowing you’re advocating on their behalf.
Plus, they can get through a lengthy home renovation project without worrying about the potential of seeing their property damaged. It’s a winning situation when you have a will to protect your family member’s property and assets.
An Estate Plan Gives You Time to Address How You Feel
Where will your favorite collectible go after you’re no longer around? A question like this bears significant weight on the minds of people who could be incapacitated. But with estate planning, as much effort goes into weighing the feelings of all family members involved as it does legal planning.
Your attorneys will need time to handle their side of things in terms of getting documents together. For your purposes, an estate plan gives you time to discuss the impact of upcoming home renovations before making a commitment. If a loved one was so pleased with a feature in the home, they’ll want it updated long after they’re gone.
Having these conversations will remove some of the anxiety associated with discussing expensive projects. From there, your loved one only has to worry about what they stand to gain. New roofs can net a return of investment of 85%. Maybe it’s a good idea to get that roof replacement after all.
In the end, the way you transform your home is up to the people who put years of effort into making it look great. From the moment you bought your home, you knew you needed to protect what your loved ones wanted most. Doing so means making sure you have an estate plan in motion. Better to protect your family today, so you can focus on renovations later.
