Don't you think that estate planning, financial planning and other sorts of financial preparation like saving for college, retirement or purchasing life insurance would be less taboo in general if people discussed these matters with their family routinely?
I mean everyone already knows that Brit is divorcing Kevin. Shouldn't everyone know that you've got a great college savings account opened up for your child? You don't have to share specifics, but just general sentiments.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner.
Imagine sitting at the family table at Thanksgiving and announcing that you figured out your gross estate is $1.6 million if you died today and that you are starting to think about tax planning as part of your estate planning. What would everyone think? In reality, who cares as these issues are so important that talking about them is really the best thing.
Talk about planning for the future, talk about what would happen if Mom or Dad died, talk about saving money for college in a 529 plan. Just talk. When you talk, you share ideas, compassion and a sense of motivation that taking care of your estate planning and financial affairs is truly an important thing to do.