When thinking about estate planning, you may begin to wonder about how your mental health affects your estate.
All of the time and effort spent on the financial future of your descendants is important. However, there are some obstacles that you must consider if you or your beneficiaries suffer from mental health problems.
Choosing the best option for yourself
According to Wealth Management, assessing how likely it is that you could suffer from mental struggles that could lead to disability is part of estate management. Many people may not think seriously about how their mental state could impact the decisions they are making or how common mental health issues are.
Determining your capacity to make decisions or catch details can help you decide what to do next. Managing assets requires focus, which means that if you are vulnerable, you may struggle to complete the necessary tasks.
Helping your beneficiaries
While you may not struggle with any mental health issues, you could want to make sure your beneficiaries are ready to inherit the property or assets you leave them. One method is to use dead hand control, which refers to creating stipulations for when and how a beneficiary can inherit your estate.
You may want to set up a limitation that a beneficiary may only access the money after reaching a certain age. If they struggle with substance abuse or another problem, you may even specify that they need to prove they were sober for a certain amount of time before receiving the full estate. Learning more about how mental health can impact estate planning may help you feel ready to make a plan.