Written by Erik Schuster CFP®, Financial Planner – 

After all the effort placed into your retirement and investment plan, do you want to leave it to chance that your ultimate wishes are carried through? As they should, many families will focus all their financial planning efforts towards retirement planning. While this is one of the most important goals in our financial lives, it is far from the last step. Once we have the clarity and certainty that we will live the retirement we deserve, it is important to take the time to ensure our money is well prepared for the next generation.

While certain life changing events will trigger a review of the estate planning documents, we must ensure we are completing timely reviews of the estate plan. A timely review of the estate planning documents should occur every 3-5 years. Let’s first go over a few events that would trigger an estate planning review.

1. You or a beneficiary gets married.
2. You or a beneficiary get divorced.
3. A child or grandchild is born or adopted.
4. Your spouse dies.
5. A beneficiary, primary or secondary, dies
6. You get a windfall.
7. You have a drastic change in your financial condition.

Now let’s review the 3 core documents and how to review/update

Will: A Will provides for the distribution of certain property owned by you at the time of your death, and generally you may dispose of such property in any manner you choose.

If your estate plan involves your assets passing through your Will, this will be a critical document. Passing assets through a Will involves creating a document that outlines assets and beneficiaries and will use the probate process to distribute those assets. This option can be best for people with accounts at various institutions. All assets will list the estate (the Will) as the beneficiary and the will is used during the probate process to direct the assets to the beneficiaries. This document names an executor. The executor will be responsible for overseeing the estate and distributing assets accordingly. Items to review: You will want to review each asset listed in the Will and ensure they are all listed. You will then want to review each beneficiary and ensure it still meets your wishes. Communicating with your executor is very important. You will want to remind them of their duty and make sure they are still willing and able to serve.

You may need to contact your estate planning attorney to make any updates and to ensure all language within the Will is still in line with current laws.

Power of Attorney: A power of attorney gives one or more persons the power to act on your behalf as your agent. The power may be limited to a particular activity, such as closing the sale of your home, or be general in its application. The power may give temporary or permanent authority to act on your behalf. The power may take effect immediately, or only upon the occurrence of a future event, usually a determination that you are unable to act for yourself due to mental or physical disability.

Items to review: You will want to reach out to the agent you appointed, or would be appointing, and ensure they are still willing and capable to serve. This is important and should be discussed every few years. You will want to review the duties being assigned to the agent. Make sure those duties are still relevant and needed. As life goes on, new needs may arise and should be added to the power of attorney. The last item is to review what trigger events would put the agent in place, if they are not already appointed power of attorney. Mental incapacitation is a common triggering event, as an example. A lawyer should review this document every 3-5 years to ensure it still meets legal standard. Some states require renewal of the power of attorney.

Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney: A Living Will is your written expression of how you want to be treated in certain medical circumstances. Depending on state law, this document may permit you to express whether you wish to be given life-sustaining treatments in the event you are terminally ill or injured, to decide in advance whether you wish to be provided food and water via intravenous devices (“tube feeding”), and to give other medical directions that impact your care, including the end of life.

A Medical Power of Attorney is a durable power of attorney specifically designed to cover medical treatment. You appoint a person and grant to him or her the authority to make medical decisions for you in the event you are unable to express your preferences about medical treatment. Most commonly, this situation occurs either because you are unconscious or because your mental state is such that you do not have the legal capacity to make your own decisions.

Items to review: You will want to ensure that your medical wishes are still true regarding end of life. Also review your wishes and directive with the agent named for your medical power of attorney. Make sure the agent is still willing and able to serve. A lawyer should review this document every 3-5 years to ensure it still meets legal standard. Some states require renewals of both document over time.

¹American Bar Association