No matter your age, it’s important to have a plan for your final wishes, though it’s something most of us don’t think about until either we’re more experienced or it’s too late. The holidays can be a good time to bring the subject up so you can all calmly work through it, form a plan and execute it at the beginning of the New Year. Jeff Rose goes into detail about what you need to pay attention to when you’re making this consideration on the Equifax Finance Blog article, “

Estate Planning: Discussing Your Final Wishes with Your Family.”

The heart of this plan is your will, a document which requires some special notice and handling. First, it’s a good idea to consult an attorney to make sure the will is filled out properly to protect your resources after death. Following that, you should make sure that your family members know that it exists so there isn’t any confusion following your passing. Part of this is sharing of information is finding and naming your executor, who is someone you trust to enforce your wishes in your absence. A strong executor can protect your family from additional grief or infighting following your passing, so choose carefully.

There are many other considerations to your estate planning that are mentioned in the article, including care of dependents, funeral planning, medical decisions and more.