By Elizabeth A. Caruso, Esq.
As summer winds down and families settle back into their school-year routines, it’s a good time to think about more than school supplies and schedules. Use those new highlighters and red pens to review your estate plan and make sure it still works for you.
Estate planning isn’t something you do once and forget. Life changes, and your estate plan should change with it. A back-to-school review can help you make sure your wishes are still accurately reflected and that the people you’ve chosen to help carry them out are still the right choices.
• Start with the people named in your documents. Have your children or grandchildren reached adulthood? Have relationships or family circumstances changed? You may want to review the beneficiaries named in your will, trust, retirement accounts, and life insurance policies. Beneficiary designations are especially important because they can determine who receives those assets, regardless of what your will says.
• Review your decision-makers. Your estate plan may name someone to make financial decisions if you become unable to do so, as well as someone to make health-care decisions on your behalf. Do your choices for who to serve still make the most sense? Are those individuals still willing and able to serve?
• Check for major life changes. A marriage, divorce, death in the family, birth of a grandchild, significant change in finances, or the purchase or sale of property may all be reasons to revisit your plan. Even without a major event, an occasional review can help identify outdated provisions.
• Make sure important documents are accessible. A current estate plan is most useful when your loved ones know where to find it. Consider organizing your will, trust, powers of attorney, health care documents, insurance information, and financial records in a secure location. Let trusted family members know how to access what they may need.
Think of your estate plan as a household document that needs occasional maintenance – much like checking the batteries in your smoke detectors or cleaning out a closet. The back-to-school season provides a natural annual reminder to take a fresh look.
If it has been several years since you reviewed your estate plan, or if your family or financial circumstances have changed, consider scheduling a conversation with an elder law attorney. A little time spent reviewing your plan today can provide greater confidence and help your family know what to do when it matters most.
About the Author: Elizabeth A. Caruso, Esq. is an attorney at Legacy Legal Planning, LLC, in Norwell. She has been practicing estate planning, probate, and elder law on the South Shore for more than a decade. If this article has sparked questions for you, please feel free to reach out via phone 781-971-5900 or email client@legacylegalplanning.com to schedule a time to discuss your unique situation.
