At the beginning of the year, millions of Americans make New Year’s resolutions. Some pledge to lose weight, some say that they will be better with money, and others promise to be more active with their charities. A few will promise themselves that they will make sure to update their estate plans, but like many people who make resolutions, they fall by the waste side in about a month.
Fortunately, with spring coming, many people traditionally do a spring cleaning. This basically means that many old things get thrown out or replaced. The fresh air of spring helps in this process.
When you think about your estate plan, or what you want to do with it (if you already have one) the same notion that applies to spring cleaning should apply. Indeed, you don’t want to throw away your estate plan altogether, but revisiting it and seeing if you need to make chances is a good thing to do.
So while you are cleaning out closets, donating old items to charity and straightening up your garage, take some time to look at what you have for an estate plan and set up an appointment with an experienced Estate Planning Lawyer to discuss ways you can either streamline your plan, add things to it in a proper manner, or make sure that important items or accounts can be passed to heirs and loved ones without the need for probate.
Estate planning does not have to be a morbid topic; especially considering the savings on taxes and costs in the long run.