Estate planning is about maintaining control of your property while alive, taking care of you and your loved ones if you’re disabled, giving what you have to whom you want, the way you want, when you want, and saving every last tax dollar, professional fee and court cost legally possible. Below are Ten Colorado Estate Planning Mistakes we frequently encounter.

1. Procrastination

Procrastination may be forgivable for young singles with no dependents, but if you never get around to doing anything about your estate plan, the grief experienced by your survivors will be compounded.

2. Stay Ignorant About the Process

As with most things, but especially with estate planning, when you don’t know what you are doing, mistakes practically make themselves. If you do not want to leave a mess for your family, you should talk to a Colorado lawyer who specializes in estate planning.

3. Let Others Figure Out What You Want

Talking to your family about your intentions seems obvious. After all, they will one day be combing through all of your most closely guarded secrets. Give your family the tools they need to make their job easier both in the event of your incapacity and following your death.

4. Outdated Colorado Wills

Too many Colorado Wills do not get updated. People tend to draft Wills following a life triggering event, like when they get married or divorced, when they have children, or following their parents passing when they encounter the estate settlement process. The Will often remains neglected for years after that. An outdated Will can pass property to an incorrect heir.

5. Improper Disposition of Assets

This is when your assets get passed along to the wrong person or in an undesirable way. A young adult, for instance, might receive a larger amount of money than he or she is capable of handling. Inequitable distributions, due to incorrect beneficiary designations, are also a major error.

6. Leaving Everything to Your Spouse

The government offers an estate tax credit. Unfortunately, by leaving all of your assets to your spouse, you essentially sacrifice your share of this benefit. Additionally, if you are in a second marriage, leaving everything to a surviving second spouse may lead to unintended results.

7. Failure to Consider Life Insurance

Life insurance may resolve many problems in estate planning. All too often people do not take the time to understand the benefits of using it to accomplish their goals.

8. Not Accounting for Jointly-owned Assets

Many people mistakenly believe their Colorado Will dictates where all their assets will be distributed. However, many assets, including bank accounts and real estate, may be co-owned, and therefore will become the property of the surviving joint-owner. While this may be as intended, it may create family dissention when one child, who is named on a joint account for convenience purposes only, unintentionally is entitled to a greater inheritance than the other heirs.

9. Failure to Stabilize and Maximize

It is very important that you know, and record, the value of your business interest, and have an agreement in place that makes provisions for the business if you die. It is also important to make sure you have primary and secondary beneficiary designations on all contracts—from pension plans, and life insurance to tax-deferred annuities. IRAs and other retirement vehicles often are a family’s largest asset beside their home, yet they do not properly plan the accurate disposition to maximize death tax and income liabilities.

10. Lack of Adequate Records

Where are your assets located? Do you have an updated list of the names and numbers of your closest advisors? Anyone who acts on your behalf—whether you are incapacitated or deceased—needs access to last year’s tax returns, the locations of all your bank accounts, information about insurance policies, and so forth. Make sure you record all relevant information and have it in an accessible location.

Having a clear and intelligent estate plan can help put your mind at ease about the future, and assure that your heirs will get maximum benefits from what you leave behind. Estate planning is a useful tool, not something to be delayed, avoided or ignored, and is one of the greatest gifts you can give to those who survive you.