Ensure Your Family’s Security with an Estate Plan
No matter what your net worth, you should have an estate plan in place. Such a plan ensures that your family is cared for and your assets maximized upon your death. An estate plan consists of your will, health care documents, powers of attorney, life insurance coverage, and post-mortem letters.
For those of you with an estate plan already, good for you! But we have a piece of additional advice: make it a priority to review the plan every two years to see whether it needs updating.
Here are the life events that necessitate an update to your plan:
- Divorce
- Marriage or remarriage
- Birth/adoption of child
- Death of spouse or child
- Sale of a residence or purchase of new residence
- Retirement
- Enactment of new tax laws
When updating your estate plan you may need to do the following:
- Name a different executor
- Revise your will, especially if your assets have increased significantly
- Reassess your life insurance needs
- Add or change a power of attorney
- Change legal documents to comport with state laws if you move to a different state
- Change wills or trust instruments to account for changes in beneficiaries
- Change your post-mortem letter to reflect new assets, changes in executors, or other changes
Due to recent changes in estate tax laws, many estate plans may need to be revised. Give us a call to review your current situation.
By Leon Clinton