Typical New Year’s resolutions are to exercise more, lose weight, improve your finances, learn a new skill – or to protect the future of their family and loved ones. If your 2022 New Year’s Resolution is to create an estate plan, there’s no time like the present to check that resolution off your list!
Our 2022 Estate Planning New Year’s Resolution checklist will give you a jumpstart on ensuring the future of your loved ones is protected.
√ Update or make a will, financial and medical directives. • An up-to-date will is the best way to protect your family and loved ones.
• A Healthcare Power of Attorney or Medical Directive is a durable power of attorney, a legal device that allows one person to indefinitely make decisions on behalf of another.
• A living will allows you to specify your medical wishes and ensure that your family members understand your health care choices.
• A durable power of attorney is used to allow the designated person to handle affairs in a specific area of a person’s life, such as financial matters if they become incapacitated.
√ Review all of your insurance policies.
• Review and update your beneficiaries on your life insurance, investments, retirement savings and other financial accounts that have a beneficiary.
• Who do you need to be protected?
• What assets need to be paid off if you die?
• What major life events have happened since you last updated your insurance policies – marriages, divorces, births, deaths, new businesses?
• What assets require protection such as a business, high-value jewelry, art or collectibles?
• Request “Inforce Illustrations” for your life policies, declarations pages or summary review on home, auto, retirement, investments and business policies.
√ Organize your legal paperwork and documents.
It is important that the original copy of all your estate planning documents are safely stored and protected. Store them in a safe place, and make electronic copies for easy access.
Get our free 7-Point Estate Planning Checklist to help you prepare to meet with your estate planning attorney.
Don’t put estate planning off any longer. The experienced estate planning attorneys at Estate and Probate Legal Group understand that estate planning can seem overwhelming, but we also know there’s no better time than now to achieve your 2022 New Year’s Resolution! Contact us today at Estate and Probate Legal Group today to turn your resolutions into reality. Call 630-864-5835 to speak to an experienced estate planning attorney.
AREAS WE SERVE: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and Will counties
