This week I sat down with estate planning attorney, Nikki Semanchik to discuss what estate planning documents are a must and who should have them.

Nikki is the Founding Attorney of Semanchik Law Group (SLG), a business, nonprofit and estate planning firm located in San Diego. Nikki started SLG because she wanted to create a modern law firm that felt accessible to clients. As an entrepreneur herself, Nikki has a real passion for helping other business owners realize their dreams. Nikki truly believes that a huge part of her job as a business attorney is teaching, motivating and inspiring her clients to dream big.

Nikki is also passionate about helping families protect their assets and plan for their futures through estate planning. As a parent herself, Nikki understands how having a proper estate plan in place can give you peace of mind knowing that your children are taken care of it the unthinkable happens.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Why you should care about estate planning & the reasons people avoid it
• Why the amount money you have doesn't matter when it comes to this kind of planning
• What it means to have an estate plan in place and who it's actually for
• The items that should be included in your trust and why they should be in there
• The differenced between wills and trusts
• Mary Beth’s favorite aspect of having a trust
• The document you need to have if you can’t make your own medical decisions
• Understanding why your trustee might not be the best person to execute your health care directive
• Why everyone over 18 years old should have a HIPAA document
• The purpose of having a Pour-Over Will
• How to handle determining and designating guardians for your children
• The importance of informing those you designate in your estate planning documents
• When and why you would need a durable power of attorney
• When to work with an attorney vs. creating your documents online
• How frequently you should be reviewing and updating your documents

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
• The Case for Millennials to Have a Plan
• My Estate is Not in Order