A new year is a time for reflection. Did our lives change last year? Will they be changing in the coming year? We often make resolutions to fix a problem in our lives or make our lives better, but how many of us follow through? One way to start the new year out right is with an up-to-date estate plan.
What’s Happened In Your Life Since The Last Time You Updated Your Estate Plan?
Since your estate plans affect every aspect of your life, it’s important to keep them current. Have you gotten married or divorced? Added new children or grandchildren to the family? Is it time to think about retiring from the family business?
Changes in family structure bring about lots of changes in your estate plan. Your Will, for example, needs to mention spouses and children. If your marital status is different now than when you last signed a Will, it’s time for a review!
Your durable power of attorney needs to reflect who you want to be your personal representative. A quick review of your docs may reveal that your preferred agent has moved far away or doesn’t want to serve any more. Time to get that document up to date!
Keystone now also offers a program called Emergency Legal Agent ™. When your personal representative lives in another town or state, ELAs can take care of immediate issues in the event of an emergency such as securing your home, notifying family, and caring for your pets.
It’s particularly important to get your health care and end-of-life documents in sync with your current beliefs. As with the power of attorney, you may need to change your personal representative.
What’s Happening To You This Year?
If you’re planning any big life events like divorce or the birth of a child, now’s the time to talk to a lawyer about making sure your estate plan is still good. Maybe you’re thinking of retiring in the next year. If so, take some time to consider changes to financial and legal documents.
Since we can’t predict what will happen in the future, review your estate plan to make sure it accurately reflects your circumstances.
Is Your Life Different Than It Used To Be?
Find out more about your estate planning options by watching some of our free resources. For more information or to set up an appointment with a qualified Arizona estate planning attorney, give us a call at (480) 418-8448. We offer services for clients throughout Arizona, including Chandler, Gilbert, Sun Lakes, Tempe, Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, and Apache Junction.
