New Year's Resolution to Review Your Estate Plan

Welcome to the New Year!

We hope your 2014 was full of memories, triumphs, and lessons learned. As you turn to the New Year and begin to list achievements you will accomplish in 2015, have you thought about updating your current Estate Plan?

    This may not seem like a typical item to place on your do-to list, but think about it this way. 2014 provided many opportunities for your life situation to change since your created your current Estate Plan.

Many of us have experienced additions to our lives; a new spouse, new child, new grandchild, new home, new investments, or new inheritance. Sadly, many of us have also experienced loss to our lives in 2014. Whatever your situation may be, your 2015 life looks different than your 2014 life.

First, locate your current Estate Planning documents. If you have difficulty finding them, imagine how difficult it would be for a grief stricken family member to find them. If your attorney gave you a folder to hold your documents, make sure all the documents you created are there. Locate the original, whether it be in the folder, a file, safe, or with the attorney who drafted the document.

After locating the originals, store them some place safe and make sure that others can find them if you are not able to retrieve them yourself. If the originals are with the drafting attorney, make sure that your loved ones know who that attorney is and how to reach the attorney.

Second, review the documents to make sure that the documents still accomplish your current goals and wishes. Life changes have a way of altering the goals of our Estate Plan. Are the people you have named to specific responsibilities still your desired choice for that responsibility? Are those people still willing and able to perform the names responsibility?

If you have minor children, are your chosen Guardians still the people you wish to have your children raised by? Has their life changed to a degree this year that has created doubt or concern about their ability or desire to take on your children in case something were to happen to you?

Schedule a conversation with Justin Jeppesen to ensure your estate planning documents are in order! With our Free Initial Consultation we help our clients explore their own situations and plan for their futures. To help jump-start your own planning, download and complete the Client Information Form.

If you have more questions, we'd love to help! Contact Jeppesen Law now.