Spring has sprung! It’s time for Spring Cleaning---time to declutter and de-stress (at least temporarily!). This year, add cleaning up your estate plan to the list.
Here is a short checklist:
- Review your existing documents. Make sure they still reflect your wishes as to who will inherit your estate and who will serve as your executor. If not, now is the time to update them.
- Review/update beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and investment accounts all allow the owner to designate the person(s) who will receive the account at the owner’s death. These assets transfer directly to your designated beneficiary and are not transferred by your Will. Make sure to update them from time to time, especially in the event of divorce or upon the death of a designated beneficiary.
- Discard old estate planning documents. If you still have previous wills that have been replaced by more recent wills (and photocopies of old documents), you should purge those from your files or at least note clearly on them that they have been revoked and/or replaced by a more recent will. If the “old” will is accidentally probated at your death, the process of having the more recent will probated is not as simple as probating the newer will and can be somewhat time consuming and complicated. Best practice is to keep only your most recent estate planning documents to eliminate confusion.
- Organize your documents and make sure those who need access to them know where they are and how to access them. This should also include a list of the accounts you own, contact information for your attorney and your financial and tax advisors. Ideally, you should also provide a list of login credentials/passwords for your “digital” assets, such as social media accounts, online shopping, airline miles, etc.
Amy Shue Isaacs
Estate Administration/Probate Attorney
The McIntosh Law Firm, P.C.
https://www.mcintoshlawfirm.com/attorneys/amy-shue-isaacs/