When creating your estate plan, there are several crucial components. Among them are two categories: assets and people. In particular, the people in your estate plan hold a huge and important role. After all, you create your estate plan for the benefit of others.

So who are the most important figures in your estate plan, then? Who should you pay the most attention to?

Active figures in your plan

Forbes discusses the importance of having an estate plan no matter where you are in life. This means staying on top of your estate plan after you create it, too. This is important to note because the people in your estate plan could change several times between the creation of the plan and your death. After all, bonds change all throughout a person’s life. People constantly leave and enter your life for various reasons, and your plan needs to reflect that.

That said, the figures you should focus on first are the ones that take an active role in your end of life stages. This often includes people like your power of attorney or your healthcare proxy. Both individuals hold a lot of power, especially if you get incapacitated later in life and cannot make decisions yourself.

Who handles your personal matters?

A healthcare proxy takes care of your health-related matters. This includes everything from deciding what treatment you receive, to deciding when to stop the treatments. A power of attorney signs off on legal matters on your behalf. They can handle your assets, property and more. Needless to say, you want these people on your side. They should be individuals you trust, and ones who would make the same decisions you would if you could. While your estate plan obviously has other figures like beneficiaries, these are the ones that should get priority.