More than half of Americans do not have any estate planning documents. We surveyed hundreds of Americans and found that the majority feel the same: they know it’s important, but they have not made it a priority.
The reality is everyone should have some level of estate planning documents. It should be part of everyday life and financial planning. For example, what would your loved ones have to deal with if you were to pass away today? Are they set up for a successful transfer of your accounts, belongings, and other personal items? Do they know what your wishes are? Although our lives are entirely unpredictable, below, we’ve broken down the life stages or situations that we often see when it comes to estate planning.
Before, during, or immediately after college
College students are often living away from home for the first time in their lives. These young adults should have the appropriate financial and health care powers of attorney in place. Parents or other trusted loved ones will handle various financial and healthcare issues that may arise while the young adult is away at college or is unable to care for themselves due to illness or injury. If you’re the parent or loved one, this will give you much greater peace of mind as your kid heads off to college. In addition, parents coaching their emerging adult child about creating an estate plan is an excellent grown-up life lesson.
Actions Suggested:
- Create financial and health care powers of attorney (POA)
- Update your will beneficiaries
Your first real job
As you get settled into your new company, make sure you take the appropriate actions below. Doing this will start accumulating savings and putting your money away to help you down the road.
Actions Suggested:
- Designate beneficiaries of your company’s retirement account (i.e., 401k, etc.)
- Get your estate planning legal documents in order
Getting married
Newly married couples engage in estate planning because they each typically want to provide for each other. However, the default rules & regulations that apply when you have no estate plan and become incapacitated, or you pass away may cause a burden to your new spouse. At a minimum, create your will and power of attorney legal documents so that your spouse will have the control you would want them to have should something unlikely or unforeseen happen to you.
Actions Suggested:
- Create your will
- Create financial and health care powers of attorney (POA)
- Update your beneficiaries across all accounts
Having a baby
Raising a child is one of life’s most important roles. With estate planning, new parents can both designate the backup parents for the child. Good planning will also ensure that any inheritance left behind for the child will be used appropriately to raise the child and managed properly in a trust until the child is an adult.
Actions Suggested:
- Select a backup guardian
- Create your will
- Create financial and health care powers of attorney (POA)
- Update your beneficiaries across all accounts
Adopting a child
When you adopt a child, you’ll want to ensure that your newly adopted child’s future is secure in case something happens to you. Create a will and consider a living trust, which also designates legal guardians for any minor children you may leave behind.
Actions Suggested:
- Select a backup guardian
- Create your will
- Consider creating a living trust
- Create financial and health care powers of attorney (POA)
- Update your beneficiaries across all accounts
Getting divorced
Married people often leave their estate to their spouse, and they name their spouse as their agent on their durable power of attorney and their healthcare legal documents. A divorce is the kind of significant life change that warrants creating a new estate plan.
Actions Suggested:
- Review & update all of your estate planning documents
- Create a new estate plan if you do not yet have one
- Update all of your beneficiaries across all accounts
Birth of grandchild
Many new grandparents want to include their grandchildren in their estate plan to ensure that the grandchild has the opportunity to attend college and have some or all of their college education expenses covered. In addition, leaving assets in a trust for grandchildren is a great way to ensure that future generations get a much-needed head start on life.
Actions Suggested:
- Create or update a specific distribution in trust for grandchildren
- Update your beneficiaries across all accounts
Planning for retirement
First off, congrats. You’ve earned it. You can enjoy your retirement with the peace of mind that you’ve protected your estate for yourself and your loved ones. Make settling your estate easy by designating the right family members to handle your financial and healthcare needs when you can’t and by controlling how your estate passes to your closest loved ones.
Actions Suggested:
- Create or update your estate plan
- Update your beneficiaries across all accounts
- Inform and educate your advocates so they are ready to perform tasks on your behalf
To Sum It Up
Estate planning isn’t a one-shot deal. As you progress through life, it’s imperative to create, amend, and maintain your estate plan through changes in your life circumstances. It’s easier than you think - get started today.