Most estate planning conversations start with who gets what. For childfree adults, a harder question comes first: who makes decisions for you when you can't make them yourself? In Part 2 of her conversation with Scott Barnes, CFP®, CLTC, Director of Financial Planning at Childfree Wealth, host Kirsten Howe moves from financial planning to the documents themselves — and to the people named inside them. Scott and Kirsten dive in where many childfree clients start: pets, and why a line in a will leaving an animal and $10,000 to a friend doesn't do what people assume it does. From there, they get into the fiduciary gap — siblings who are the same age as you are, nieces and nephews who may also be beneficiaries, and the reality that naming someone isn't the same as that person being able and willing to do the work. Scott also walks through Childfree Trust, the sister company to Childfree Wealth, which provides medical power of attorney services in all 50 states and D.C., and the care documents that tell a fiduciary which hospital you'd prefer, who your veterinarian is, and who walks the dog. Time-stamped Show Notes: 0:00 Introduction 0:40 Who Scott's clients are: adults who, by choice or by circumstance, will not be having children — and why that changes the estate plan. 1:20 Pets first. Clients with children assume a son or daughter will take the animals; childfree clients have no built-in pet sitter. 2:05 Scott: for a lot of childfree clients, the pets are the reason they do their estate planning at all. 2:50 Why leaving a pet and $10,000 to a friend in a will doesn't protect the animal — the money becomes that person's outright. 3:35 Nothing in a will stops that person from keeping the money and surrendering the pet to a shelter. 4:15 Scott's fix is a pet trust: a trust is about control, and control is what turns your intention into a guarantee. 5:00 Childfree clients often don't have obvious beneficiaries either — listen in as Kirsten weighs in on who struggles most with that list. 5:45 The question Scott hears more often than "who inherits" is: who will make decisions for me when I can't? 6:25 Why Scott pushes the medical and financial powers of attorney ahead of the will and the trust — incapacity is what actually happens to clients. 7:10 Childfree Trust, the sister company to Childfree Wealth, was built for people who have no one to name. 7:55 It operates in all 50 states and D.C., and it will serve as a client's medical power of attorney. 8:40 Most trust companies handle everything else but decline the medical POA role. 9:20 The exceptions: California's licensed professional fiduciaries, Arizona's fiduciary program, and a similar option in Washington. 10:00 Trust companies often won't take on the financial or legal power of attorney either. 10:40 Most people named in these roles don't actually know what the job requires of them. 11:20 The niece or nephew you name as your agent may also be your beneficiary — two interests that can pull in different directions. 12:00 Unless someone files a complaint, there is no practical way to enforce an agent's duty. 12:40 What a professional, objective fiduciary adds: your explicit written directions, followed. 13:20 Scott's caveat — naming a child isn't a guarantee either, because abuse of these powers happens in families too. 14:00 The blind spot in naming a sibling or a close friend: they're your contemporaries. 14:40 They won't be much help when you're 85 in a hospital bed, and Kirsten's suggestion to make a few young friends. 15:25 Naming someone isn't enough. They have to be willing to step up and get to work. 16:05 Scott served as financial power of attorney for his parents and grandparents, and deliberately declined the medical role. 16:50 Have the conversation while you can, so the person you named knows your wishes before the emergency. 17:30 What Childfree Trust clients receive: a will, medical and financial powers of attorney, and a revocable living trust. 18:10 Care documents: resuscitation preferences, a preferred CCRC or assisted living community, and which hospital to be moved to. 18:55 The pet section of the care documents — veterinarian, boarding, dog walker, cat sitter. 19:35 If a client never fills them out, the trust company hires care managers in the client's local community instead. 20:10 Why so many parents in their 70s and 80s keep their plans close to the vest, and what that costs the family in an emergency. 20:50 Knowing what the job involves makes it easier to accept, and why pre-planning a funeral is a gift to whoever survives you. 21:30 In the works, around the beginning of the year: the same service for people who do have adult children, including estranged ones. 22:10 Where to find Childfree Wealth, Childfree Trust, and Childfree Insights. Take the Next Step in Your Estate Planning Journey If this episode resonated with you, we'd love to help you with your own estate planning needs in California. Schedule a complimentary discovery call with our team at Absolute Trust Counsel. During this no-obligation conversation, we'll: Learn about your unique situation and goals Answer questions about our services Determine if we're the right fit to work together Visit https://absolutetrustcounsel.com/scheduling/ or call 925-943-2740 to schedule your free discovery call today. Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a couple second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. 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