@Sibley , how did you decide to go with a trust? I have a service dog and I honestly hadn't thought about planning for her.
I just recently revised my living will for health care directives and I'm in the process of revising a durable POA for finances.
As it is now, my assets will go to my parents if I die before them. It's unlikely, but I am disabled and have health care issues so possible. I had a scare a couple of weeks ago that lit a fire under my butt to start planning more earnestly. It's really simple to just have everything go to them but, in practice, it just means it'll all go to my brother. While that's not a problem per se, I feel like it doesn't really fit with my values. He should have a quite large inheritance from my parents so he wouldn't
need anything from me. And we're not close so it wouldn't be an emotionally meaningful gift. If I live longer than my parents (statistically much more likely), my estate will be much larger and I won't have any other family but my brother to leave it to. My close friends don't need the money. Maybe I should be planning to leave my assets to charity? Can you name a charity as a beneficiary? Or do I need a trust and what are the different types?
I guess I'm just struggling with what the alternatives might be and would like to learn more in general. Any recommended resources or more examples of what you guys have done would be really helpful. Thanks!