Estate Planning Tips for 2025

Happy and Healthy New Year! Have you made your 2025 resolutions, or are you finding it challenging to become motivated? You are not alone. Here are some tips to motivate you to go from setting goals to implementing an action plan:

• Update Your Will: If you haven’t reviewed your Will in a few years, take it out and read it. Things could have changed, and you want to be sure it reflects your current wishes. Have major life events occurred since you signed your Will? For example, you may have gotten married or divorced, you may have had another child born, your fiduciary may be incapacitated or deceased. If you haven’t made a Will, now is the time to get that in order!
• Review Beneficiary Designations: If you have designated a beneficiary on a bank account, a life insurance policy, or even a retirement account, the Will is not going to control the disposition of that asset because it will be bypassed. Therefore, it is important to review the beneficiary designations and confirm they are aligned with your wishes or update the beneficiary designations. This is especially important if you are divorced and/or remarried: if the former spouse is designated, you must affirmatively change the designation.
• Plan Ahead for Taxes: Work with your estate planning attorney, financial advisor, and tax advisor to determine whether you have a taxable estate and your options for reducing or eliminating estate tax.
• Organize Your Important Documents: Having an estate plan is great, but it will be a mystery if no one knows where to find your documents. Your fiduciaries should be kept informed of where you keep your original estate plan documents and financial documentation. In today’s digital world, having a list of your usernames and passwords is even more critical.
• Consult an Elder Law Attorney: It may be tempting to D.I.Y., but don’t do it as it will have lasting consequences. Invest the time and money to have it done correctly. Your plan should be tailored to your family dynamics, goals, and needs. It is not ‘one size fits all.’ An experienced elder law attorney can help you address issues you may not have considered and encourage you to consider potential issues such as incapacity, death, and disharmony among beneficiaries.

Getting correct and complete legal advice is investing in your future and your care. Do it right the first time by partnering with a Board Certified Elder Law Attorney. I work with clients living in Florida and can meet with them in person or by video conference. If you are reading this article/blog and don’t live in Florida, contact the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org ) to find an elder law attorney in your area.