Certain events in your life should prompt you to update and re-evaluate your existing estate plan. Examples of these are outlined below, although it’s also a good idea to schedule an annual meeting with an estate planning lawyer to make sure your plan is up to date.
Getting Married
You and your future spouse should certainly have some conversations about your financial future before getting married, but it’s important to walk through your financial plan and estate plan to make sure all documents have been updated after you get married, too. Beneficiary forms, wills, and powers of attorney are a few worth reviewing.
Starting A Family
Adding a child means adding a new beneficiary and thinking carefully about using tools such as a last will and testament to outline who will be responsible for taking care of your children if something happens to you.
Divorce
The estates that you combined upon marriage, now must be separated. Furthermore, don’t forget to update your beneficiary designation forms which more than likely have your former spouse listed as the person who is able to receive all of your financial benefits. The same person is probably named on all of your power of attorney documents, too. Although in Massachusetts your former spouse is no longer authorized to act if named in your estate plan, in order to make sure there is no confusion, update your estate planning documents at the time of your divorce.
Retirement
When you set up your retirement fund, your beneficiaries are named at that point in time. However, your beneficiary designations could be decades old by the time you hit your retirement age. This is a great opportunity to review your retirement plan beneficiaries and establish meaningful updates.
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