It’s a good idea to update your estate plan after major life events, like a marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or a death in the family. It’s sometimes a good idea to double-check your estate plan before traveling too. Unfortunately, accidents can happen on a long trip, so it’s wise to make sure that all of your affairs are nice and organized before traveling. A Washtenaw County estate administration attorney can help you ensure that your estate plan is in order.
Should I Review My Estate Plan Before Traveling?
Reviewing your estate plan before traveling is a good idea, especially if there have been some significant changes to your life since the last time you updated your plan. Any births or deaths could affect your plans, as could a marriage, divorce, or remarriage. Maybe you’ve had a falling out with a friend or family member and you no longer want them to be part of your estate plan. All of these are great reasons to update a plan.
Some things that you might want to double-check include:
- Your executor, the person responsible for making sure your will and wishes are honored
- A trustee, the person responsible for managing a trust that you set up, if you have one
- Beneficiaries for specific bank accounts and insurance policies
- Who gets power of attorney if you are incapacitated
What Should I Be Sure of Before Traveling?
You also should make sure that everything that an executor would need is organized and easy to find. Before traveling, gather together any financial documents and put them with a list of your online accounts and any passwords that might be needed by your executor. This tiny bit of preparation can save your family members a lot of time and reduce the amount of stress experienced by your loved ones.
Will a Lawyer Be Helpful?
Making an estate plan on your own can be tough. Even if you are just making a will, there are all of these requirements to ensure that the will is a legal document in the state of Michigan. If you make a will on your own and it isn’t legal, then that can cause your family additional headaches when it’s time for your assets to be divided up.
A lawyer can help you make use of all of the estate planning tools available to you. You can set up trusts to ensure that family members are taken care of and even make plans for continued donations to charitable causes. Tell us your goals and we will do our best to make them a reality.
Schedule Your Consultation
If you have any updates that you want to make to your estate plan, we are ready to help you. Contact Collis, Griffor & Hendra and schedule an appointment with our team.
