Fall is naturally a season for taking stock. As the year begins to wind down, many retirees review their finances, prepare for the holidays, schedule medical appointments, and make plans for the coming year. It is also an excellent time to review your estate plan.

Estate planning is not something you complete once and forget about. Retirement can bring significant changes in your finances, health, family relationships, and long-term care needs. Even if you already have a Will, Power of Attorney, and Advance Healthcare Directive, reviewing those documents regularly can help ensure they still reflect your wishes.

For Connecticut retirees, an annual fall estate planning review can be a practical way to identify changes that should be addressed before the end of the year.

1. Review Your Will

Start by taking another look at your Last Will and Testament. Ask yourself whether the people, property, and instructions listed in your Will still reflect what you want today.

Consider whether there have been changes involving:

• A marriage or divorce
• The death of a spouse, beneficiary, or fiduciary
• New children or grandchildren
• A beneficiary’s financial or personal circumstances
• The purchase or sale of significant property
• Changes in charitable giving goals
• The person(s) you selected to serve in fiduciary roles

Even when your overall wishes have not changed, an older Will may deserve an attorney’s review to determine whether it continues to work effectively with the rest of your estate plan.

2. Check Your Beneficiary Designations

Some of your most valuable assets may pass outside your Will.

Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, annuities, and certain financial accounts may transfer according to beneficiary designations. That makes it important to periodically confirm both your primary and contingent beneficiaries.

A beneficiary designation you completed many years ago may no longer reflect your current wishes. Changes involving marriage, divorce, deaths, births, or family relationships can all be reasons to revisit these forms.

Beneficiary designations should also be coordinated with your overall estate plan rather than reviewed in isolation.

 

Related Article: Why Updating Your Beneficiaries Should Be on Your Fall To-Do List

 

3. Revisit Your Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney allows someone you trust to handle financial and legal matters on your behalf under the circumstances described in the document.

Ask yourself: Is the person I selected still the person I would trust to manage my affairs today?

You should also consider whether your chosen agent is still willing and able to serve. If your Power of Attorney is several years old, an estate planning attorney can review it to determine whether updating the document would be beneficial.

This becomes especially important as you age because having an appropriate Power of Attorney in place may help your family manage your affairs if illness or incapacity prevents you from doing so yourself.

4. Review Your Advance Healthcare Directive

Your healthcare wishes may evolve during retirement.

Review your Advance Healthcare Directive and confirm that your designated healthcare representative is still appropriate. Consider whether you have discussed your preferences with that person, particularly regarding serious illness, end-of-life care, and other important medical decisions.

It can also be helpful to make sure the appropriate people know where your healthcare documents can be found in an emergency. We also recommend making sure a copy of your healthcare documents are on file with your primary care physician and made a part of your electronic medical record.

 

Related Article: Estate Planning for Couples Who Aren’t Married

 

5. Consider Whether Your Long-Term Care Plan Has Changed

Long-term care is an increasingly important part of estate planning during retirement.

Your health, finances, living arrangements, or family support system may have changed significantly since your estate plan was created. Fall can be a good time to consider questions such as:

• Would you prefer to remain at home if you need care?
• Who would help coordinate that care?
• How would you pay for assisted living, home care, or nursing home care?
• Could long-term care expenses affect the assets you hope to preserve?
• Should Medicaid planning or asset protection strategies be discussed with an elder law attorney?

Planning before a crisis generally provides more options than waiting until care is immediately necessary.

6. Look at Your Trusts and Asset Ownership

If you have a revocable or irrevocable trust, reviewing the trust document itself is only part of the process. You should also consider whether assets are titled appropriately and whether the trust is still accomplishing its intended purpose.

The same applies to jointly owned property. Changes to bank accounts, investments, or real estate ownership can affect how assets pass at death and how they fit into your overall estate plan.

Do not assume that creating a trust years ago means the planning process is permanently complete.

 

Related Article: How To Organize Your Legal Documents – Step By Step Guide

 

7. Organize Important Information for Your Family

A good estate plan should be legally sound, but it should also be usable when your family needs it.

Consider keeping an organized record of important information, including:

• Estate planning documents
• Attorney and financial advisor contact information
• Insurance policies
• Bank and investment accounts
• Retirement accounts
• Real estate information
• Digital accounts and important online information
• Funeral or burial wishes, if applicable

You do not necessarily need to give family members unrestricted access to sensitive financial information. However, the appropriate people should know that your documents exist and how they can access necessary information when the time comes.

8. Think About Changes Coming in the New Year

An annual review is also an opportunity to look forward.

Are you considering selling your home, moving to another state, spending more time at a second residence, making substantial gifts, helping grandchildren financially, or changing your retirement investments?

These decisions can have estate planning, tax, Medicaid, and long-term care implications. Discussing them with your attorney before taking action can help ensure one financial decision does not unintentionally undermine another part of your plan.

 

Related Article: 5 Everyday Life Events That Affect Your Estate Plan

 

Make an Estate Planning Review Part of Your Fall Routine

You do not necessarily need to rewrite your estate plan every year. An annual review is simply an opportunity to make sure your documents, beneficiaries, fiduciaries, assets, and long-term goals remain aligned.

If several years have passed since you last reviewed your estate plan, or if your family, health, finances, or living arrangements have changed, it may be time for a more comprehensive review.

At Reed Wilson Case, we help Connecticut individuals and families create and update estate plans designed for their current circumstances and future needs. A periodic review can help ensure the plan you carefully put in place continues to protect you and the people who matter to you.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice and is for general informational purposes only.

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