This week, I’m talking about estate planning essentials. If you think a will is all you need or that you need to be ultra-wealthy with a complex estate to have all the proper documents in place, think again. 

Hopefully if you listened yesterday where I talked about the importance of a durable power of attorney and advance healthcare directives - both of which have nothing to do with how much money you have - you realize that you don’t need to have a lot of money or a complex estate to concern yourself with estate planning. 

Today, I want to focus on probably the biggest issue that I see with clients. I can almost guess what the answer will be before I ask the question, but I’m going to ask it anyways. When was the last time you updated your estate plan? 

Think about it? When was the last time you updated your estate plan or your will? I cringe a little inside when I approach the end of this question, because I know what the answer is going to be. Somewhere along the spectrum of “I don’t have a will”, to “not since our kids were little”, to “I can’t remember”. Unfortunately, for most, an estate plan is a one-and-done kind of a thing, but it should never be. It’s always a good idea to review your estate plan every few years, and especially for major trigger events. Here are just a few trigger events that should prompt you to review and potentially update your estate plan: 

• Marriage 
• Divorce
• Children
• Remarriage and stepchildren
• Move to another state - different states have different laws, so it’s important to review your estate if you move and talk to a local estate attorney who understands the laws in your state 
• Major Financial changes - large inheritance or sizable growth in wealth that should prompt you to look at trusts and tax strategies involved with estate planning
• And the biggie - Death. You’ll need to update beneficiaries and usually additional estate planning documents as well should a close family member die. 

Tomorrow, I’m going to dive deeper into the beneficiary issue.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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