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New Year, New Changes to Your Estate Plan

Campbell Long
Jan 23, 2018
2 min read

The first weeks of a new year are all about improvements—improving health, improving relationships, improving organizational skills, etc. I would like to add one more thing to your list of improvements: estate plan.

Once we create an estate plan we tend not to revisit it; however, your estate plan is a living and breathing thing and does require regular maintenance, which makes the first of any new year the perfect time to evaluate your plan to make sure it is current and useful.

There are five key things you should check every year:

People: Probably the most important thing to review is the people you have named and the specific benefits and responsibilities they are assigned. Are they still alive, relevant in your life, reliable?
Legislation: External events can sometimes affect your estate plan so be sure you are aware of any legislation or laws (both federal and state) that could affect your current plan. What is the relationship between the new federal tax law and your state estate tax? For a quick summary click here.
Power of Attorney (POA): Changes in people, lifestyle and even external events can alter the details of your Power of Attorney (POA). It is a good idea to go through the documents and make sure they are specific enough.
Business Documents: Review your business succession plan and make sure you have a contact list of financial, legal and other professional experts that your family can contact for guidance. Even if you don’t own your own business, make sure family members have contact information for your place of employment as well as access to any professional documents they may need.
Digital: We are living more and more in a digital world which means we have more and more digital footprints to cover. Do you have a secure place where someone can find all of your online usernames/passwords? Have any of those been updated or changed?

In addition to marking your calendar for an annual estate plan review, you should also make an appointment with your attorney after any major life event such as a marriage, divorce, death or even a cross-country move. These periodic reviews will allow you to continue to improve the good plan you already have set—making sure your estate plan aligns with the goals of you and your family.