Four Signs it’s Time to Make an Estate Plan
We know that no one wants to think about their end-of-life planning, so that’s why we want to make this important process as easy and pain-free as possible for our clients.
One of the questions we hear most often is: When is the right time to start my estate plan?
The answer to this question varies, as it’s based on personal details, but here are four pretty big signs that it’s time to sit down with an attorney and think about what you want to happen to your estate.
Sign #1: You’re Over 18
That’s right! Estate planning is not just for the elderly or the wealthy. Anyone over the age of 18 should, at least, have a Durable Power of Attorney and a Health Care Power of Attorney.
When you’re a minor, your parents or guardians can act on your behalf in the case of an emergency. They can make medical and financial decisions for you. But once you turn 18 and become a legal adult, it gets a little more tricky.
You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you are incapacitated but your loved ones can’t make decisions for you. A Durable Power of Attorney and a Health Care Power of Attorney are legal documents that will eliminate that problem and add a layer of protection in the case of a crisis.
Sign #2: You Have Minor Children
This is probably the sign that pushes people to make an estate plan more than any other.
If you have minor children, it is important to put in writing who will take care of them if something should happen to you and your partner. A Last Will and Testament will state exactly who should become the legal guardian(s) of your child. Having this information in a document with legal standing ensures that your choice of guardian(s) is respected.
An estate plan will also detail how and when your children and/or their guardian(s) will receive access to your estate and their inheritance. This is important, especially if you have minor children who will need the care of a guardian for multiple years and you want your financial resources to provide for their care.
Sign #3: It’s Been Years Since You’ve Looked at Your Estate Plan
If you prepared an estate plan when your child was in preschool and now they have preschool-aged children of their own, it’s time to dust off your plan and revise it.
Your final wishes are probably going to be different when you have minor children compared to when you have adult children. When your kids are young, your plan will likely focus more on who will be taking care of them and how.
Now that they’re adults who can care for themselves, your priorities and focuses have probably shifted. Be sure that your estate plan shifts, too.
Sign #4: You Are Recently Divorced
If you have an estate plan from when you were married, you need to revisit it. Your newly-divorced life is not the same as your married life. Your estate plan shouldn’t be either.
In Wisconsin, you cannot disinherit a spouse, which means that most estate plans done for married couples will have the spouse listed as a beneficiary. If you’re divorced, it’s very likely that you will want to revise that.
Divorce can also change the status of financial investments and tangible assets so it’s important to review those aspects in your estate plan as well.
It can be easy to get wrapped up in our busy day-to-day lives. We all have so much to do and it’s easy to put our estate planning goals on the back burner. But there are so many reasons not to!
When you come to our office for your consultation, our goal is to make sure that you are relaxed and satisfied with your end result. We want you to understand all the ins and outs of your new estate plan and be confident that all of your wishes are well-documented.
Give us a call to schedule a time to come in for a complimentary consultation and let us put your mind at ease by planning for whatever the future holds for you.