The following is an excerpt from the website of estate planning attorney John Parr in Olympia, Washington:
“Estate planning is generally the same for men and women in terms of the paperwork. Each needs a power of attorney for health care and financial management, a will or revocable living trust, a health care directive, and other planning documents. BUT unique considerations affect how women should approach their financial and estate planning.
Ninety percent of all American women will be making financial decisions on their own due to being widowed, divorced or unmarried. Also consider these complicating factors: (1) Women´s income is approximately 73% of men´s income; (2) Women may, on average, work fewer years than men due to family priorities such as caring for children and elderly parents; and (3) Women outlive men by an average of seven years.
These circumstances require women to have a financial intimacy with their income and assets, be actively involved in the estate planning process, work with a financial planner to create a life expectancy cash flow analysis, and be actively involved in the management and operation of the family finances.
John was one of the earliest supporters of my work with women and financial intimacy. He is an estate planning attorney who really ‘gets’ it. He’s given dozens of my book “Don’t Worry about a Thing, Dear” to his clients at no charge to them.
If you’re one of my readers in the state of Washington, I highly recommend that you contact John Parr for your estate planning or legal advice.


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