A Holiday Check-In

For many, the annual transition from fall to winter comes with a long checklist: winterizing the house, end-of-year giving, and many other “to-dos” pile up around the holiday season. If your plans include hosting family and friends, it may be an opportunity to add one new item to your list: discussing your estate plan.

Clients of mine frequently ask what particulars of their estate plans, if any, they should share. Though some family structures and personalities may make it inadvisable, transparency and proactively sharing details often leads to a smoother and less contentious administration of your trust or estate. Organizing family meetings and even crafting family mission statements are gaining in popularity for this very reason. Hosting children, relatives, and extended family and friends under the same roof for holiday celebrations may offer the perfect opportunity to set your own meeting and talk through the details of your plan.

Even if a family meeting doesn’t make it on your to-do list this year, here are a few other ideas that can help your estate plan stay on track.

• Ask those playing a role in your plan whether they are still willing to serve.
• Double check that all your documents are accounted for and organized.
• If you acquired any new assets this past year, confirm any necessary steps to fund them to your trust or prepare for their transfer to your beneficiaries.
• Let somebody know where they can find your documents.
• If you have a safe with documents or other valuables, ensure someone knows where it is and how to access it.
• If you worked with a firm to create your plan, share their contact information with someone.

If you need additional help with any of those tasks or would like to discuss creating a new plan or revising your current documents, please contact the estate planning team at Wright Beamer by calling us at (248) 477-6300.