Ideally, you should get an estate plan long before you become terminally ill. However, not everyone really thinks about the prospect of their own death until it is imminent and that is somewhat understandable. When faced with the prospect of death do not assume you do not still have time to get an estate plan.
There might still be time.
Recently, NASDAQ listed some estate planning tips for people in that situation in “6 Estate Planning Tips for Those Approaching Death,” including:
Make sure to get powers of attorney in place so when you become incapacitated someone else will be legally able to handle your affairs.
Come up with a plan for your estate to avoid probate with the help of an estate planning attorney and make sure all of your assets are titled appropriately.
You may want to consider swapping assets for capital gains tax purposes, but only do so after talking to your attorney to make sure you do everything correctly.
It might be a good time to make donations to charities you support.
Review any life insurance policies you have to make sure the beneficiary designations are still appropriate.
Talk to your attorney about the best strategies to avoid income and estate taxes for your family. This could include avoiding income in respect of decedent issues.
Reference: NASDAQ (July 26, 2016) “6 Estate Planning Tips for Those Approaching Death,”