Why Should I Revisit My Estate Plan in the New Year?

The new year is a great reason to look back on your estate plan and make sure it reflects all of life’s changes. To learn more about how we can help, reach out to our skilled Butler County estate planning & probate attorneys.

What should you consider updating in the new year?

Create or update your will

The new year is a great place to begin creating your estate plan if you haven’t already. In your will, you can select a trusted executor and point exactly how you will want your executor to allocate specific assets to beneficiaries upon your passing. Failing to create a will only subject your family to a number of potential legal difficulties in the future. With that being said, even if you have already constructed a will, you should firmly consider changing and revising your will with the help of an attorney, particularly if you have had a substantial 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 allows you to make sure that your will continues to serve its purpose in its entirety.

Establish guardianships

If you are a parent with young children, it is critical that you consider selecting guardians. While no parent wants to envision being incapable of caring for and raising their child, however, in these unpredictable times, anything can happen. By choosing guardians you can trust, you will ensure that should anything happen to you and your spouse, even if it only temporarily makes it unattainable 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 directive

In times where health can take a sharp pivot, especially now during the coronavirus era, it is important that you are prepared for the worst. You can do this by 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 established a trusted individual to do so on your behalf. Also, by creating an advance healthcare directive and a living will, you can be sure that a delegated individual will make distinct critical end-of-life medical decisions on your behalf while conforming with your wishes.

Reach out to our firm today to learn more about how our Butler County estate planning & probate attorneys can help you.

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.