Estate Planning for the New Year in PA | What You Need to Know

Many people throughout the United States have established various New Year’s resolutions. While creating an estate plan may not have crossed your mind, you should absolutely make it part of your resolution to do so sooner, rather than later. Please continue reading and speak with our Pennsylvania estate planning attorneys to learn more about some of the most important aspects of estate planning for the New Year. They are as follows:

Create (Or Update) Your Will

If you have not yet created your will, there is no time like the present. In your will, you can appoint a trusted executor and detail exactly how you will want your executor to distribute certain assets to beneficiaries upon your passing. Failing to create a will only opens your family up to a slew of potential legal complications in the future. That being said, even if you have already created a will, you should strongly consider revising and updating your will with the assistance of an attorney, especially if you have had a significant change in your life, such as getting married or divorced, having a child, or losing a beneficiary who was initially included in your will. This helps ensure your will continues to serve its purpose to the fullest.

Establish Guardianships

If you are a parent with minor children, you should strongly consider appointing guardians. No parent wants to imagine being unable to care for and raise their child, however, in these uncertain times, anything is possible. By appointing guardians you can trust, you will ensure that should anything happen to you and your spouse, even if it only temporarily makes it impossible for you to look after your child, that your child will go to the guardians you know and trust to care for your child.

Create a Healthcare Power of Attorney

As you know, the coronavirus has taken the nation by storm, and while there is certainly enough fear and confusion surrounding the virus already, the truth is, it is always best to prepare for the worst. For this very reason, you should strongly consider creating powers of attorney, such as a healthcare power of attorney, as well as a living will and an advance healthcare directive. Creating powers of attorney can help ensure that, should you ever become incapacitated or unable to manage your finances/medical decisions on your own, you will have appointed a trusted individual to do so on your behalf. Additionally, creating an advance healthcare directive and a living will can ensure that a trusted individual will make certain critical end-of-life medical decisions on your behalf and in accordance with your wishes.

CONTACT OUR EXPERIENCED PENNSYLVANIA FIRM

Whether you are dealing with matters involving estate planning, estate administration, or elder law, you need a legal team that you can feel confident will represent your best interests, every step of the way. We are that legal team. Contact Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning today so we can get started.