When was your last check-up with your doctor? What about your dentist and eye doctor? Hopefully, it has been in the previous 6 to 12 months. While life is still in flux with the pandemic, keeping your health screenings is incredibly important.
One other “checkup” to have if it’s been a while is on your estate plan. In fact, a Tampa estate planning lawyer will suggest you check in on your estate plan once a year!
Of course, I am not suggesting you read the entire binder that your lawyer sent you home with. That would be very time-consuming and likely a frustrating endeavor. But, there are areas of your estate plan that you should at least skim over to make sure that your documents still accurately reflect your family and your wishes.
Here are some of the points to re-evaluate each year:
- Major Life Changes: Many things can happen in your family in 12 months. Babies are born, people pass away, people get married or divorced, wealth is created, jobs change, real estate is bought and sold, and life-changing medical issues could arise. If any of these instances occur, changes may need to be made to your estate planning documents. You do not want to accidentally leave out a new grandchild or have money inherited by an ex-partner if you pass away before you update your documents. Any significant life event should trigger you to evaluate your estate plan.
- Evaluate Your Trustee/Executor: Are you still happy with the person you chose to serve as Executor or Trustee when you pass? Also, ask yourself if this person is still capable of doing the job. For example, if you originally named a loved one who now has a serious medical condition and could not possibly take on the responsibility, you may want to consider picking someone else. Obviously, if your original choice has passed away since you created your will or trust, you will need to select an alternative candidate.
- Grandma’s wedding ring: It is always essential to have all personal property listed in your will and the person you want to inherit such items. The more detailed, the better. Maybe you have a new daughter-in-law, and you want to ensure she receives a piece of your jewelry, or you have inherited pieces of art that are not listed in your estate. Making sure your property goes to the person you want is imperative, but only you can ensure your items are properly listed in your will or trust.
- Power of Attorney and Healthcare Agent: The person listed as your agent in financial and medical matters should also be evaluated. Again, ask if the person you originally named is up for the job and is someone that you trust to honor your wishes if you are incapacitated and can’t otherwise speak for yourself.
- Health: Have your medical preferences changed? Have you thought more about your end-of-life choices or what you want your funeral to look like? All of these are part of your estate plan. You want to re-visit the decisions you made previously and ensure that they still reflect your values.
- Accounts with Beneficiaries: It does not matter what your will says, assets in financial accounts are passed to the named beneficiaries on each account. Ensuring that your accounts have properly named beneficiaries is a simple way to guarantee that those contents of your financial accounts are passed smoothly and quickly to the named beneficiary.
Hopefully, this short checklist gives you a starting point to make sure that your estate plan is up to date and still reflects your wishes. If you have additional questions, or you discover that changes need to be made, please contact our Tampa estate planning lawyers at (813) 438-8503 to schedule a consultation.