“While clients often focus on the market, goals and portfolio performance, it never hurts to make sure estate planning items are correct, particularly heading into the new year.”
Your estate plan has a big impact on your finances and should be considered as important as your investment portfolio, says Wealth Management in the recent article “Eight Simple Estate Planning Review Items for 2019.”
Here are the eight items that need your attention:
Beneficiary designations. When was the last time you checked these? Beneficiary designations are usually looked at when an account is opened, and often that’s the last time people see them. Look at beneficiary designations for tangible assets, like homes, cars or collectibles. Check legal documents, including bank accounts and insurance policies.
Digital asset designations. This is a relatively new area, but very important. Even if you don’t own any cryptocurrency, chances are good you have assets like photos, reward points, websites and more. Each social media platform has a different policy for how accounts are treated on the death of the owner. You’ll need an inventory and may want to use an online service for managing your digital assets after you die.
Trust funding. This is where many estate plans fall apart. Funding trusts often requires changing titles on bank accounts, homes and other assets into the name of the trust. Major purchases, like a boat or second home, also need to have their titling corrected, so they correspond to trusts.
Documents for adult children. When your children turn 18, they are legally adults and you do not have the legal right to get information or make decisions on their behalf. If you don’t have HIPAA releases, Power of Attorney, and other documents, you may find yourself unable to help in an emergency.
Keep up with life changes. Review your estate plan with an eye to changes in your life: births, deaths, marriages, divorces, big purchases, etc. If you haven’t met with your estate planning attorney or had a phone conversation in a few years, make an appointment now for a review.
Secure photos and memories. How many times have we watched dramatic images of fires, floods, and earthquakes in 2018? Videos, photos, family heirlooms, and artifacts and other irreplaceable items should be stored in some digital format, or in the cloud. If the family includes artists, take photos of paintings or sculptures so at least you have an image of the item should it be destroyed.
Discuss wishes with loved ones. One of the biggest challenges after someone passes, is knowing what they wanted to be done with personal possessions. If you have every Beatles album, unopened, what do you want to happen to your collection? Make inventories and then tell your family what you’d like to have happen with your possessions. You can create a “Legacy Letter” and put it down on paper. It’s not legally binding, but it will give your family some direction.
Prepare for incapacity. This is not everyone’s favorite task, but necessary. If you were conscious but not able to speak, what information would your family need? Work with your estate planning attorney to create the necessary legal documents, including medical directives, and tell your family members where they are located. Some families keep certain documents (like a Do Not Resuscitate or lists of medications) on the refrigerator, so that Emergency Responders can gain access to important medical information quickly in an emergency.
Yes, it’s a good-sized list of to-dos’, and you won’t get it all done in January. However, start in January 2019, so you and your loved ones enjoy the protection you need.
Reference: Wealth Management (Dec. 12, 2018) “Eight Simple Estate Planning Review Items for 2019”
“雖然客戶往往關注市場，目標和投資組合表現，但確保資產規劃內容是正確的總沒有害，特別是進入新一年。”
Wealth Management在最近的文章“Eight Simple Estate Planning Review Items for 2019.”
中表示，您的資產計劃對您的財務狀況有很大的影響，應被視為與您的投資組合同樣重要。
以下是需要注意的八個項目：
指定受益人。你最後一次檢查指定受益人是什麼時候？這通常是在你開立帳戶時查看，而這亦通常是最後一次。查看有形資產的指定受益人，如房屋，汽車或收藏品。檢查法律文件，包括銀行賬戶和保險單。
數碼資產的指定。這是一個相對較新的領域，但非常重要。即使您沒有任何加密貨幣，也有可能擁有照片，獎勵積分，網站等資產。每個社交媒體平台都有不同的政策，用於擁有去世後如何處理帳戶。您需要一個庫存，並希望在您去世後別人可使用於網絡上來管理您的數碼資產。
注資信託。這是許多資產計劃敗筆的地方。資金信託通常要求將銀行賬戶，房屋和其他資產的持有人更改為信託的名稱。大眾購買，如船或第二個家，也需要更改業權以跟信託對應。
給成年子女的文件。當您的子女年滿18歲時，他們在法律上已是成年人，您沒有合法權利取得信息或代他們做出決定。如果您沒有HIPAA，授權委託書和其他文件，您可能會發現自己無法在緊急情況下提供幫助。
跟上生活的變化。檢查您的資產計劃，關注您生活上的變化：出生，死亡，婚姻，離婚，大量買賣等。如果您已幾年沒有與您的資產規劃律師見面或進行電話會談，請現在預約並審查。
保護照片和記憶。我們在剛過去的2018年看到多少 火災，洪水和地震這些戲劇性的圖像？視頻，照片，家傳之寶，工藝和其他不可替代的物品應以某種數碼形式或云端存儲。如果這個家庭包括藝術家，可以拍下圖畫或雕塑的照片，這樣萬一被摧毀至少你有一個圖像。
與親人討論意願。在一個人去世後所面臨的最大挑戰之一就是知道他們想要用個人財產來做些什麼。如果您有未拆開的披頭四專輯，您希望在您的收藏怎樣？製作庫存，然後告訴你的家人你的財產該怎樣處理。您可以建立一份“遺書”並將其寫在紙上。它沒有法律約束力，但它會給你家人一些方向。
為喪失能力作出準備。這不是每個人喜歡的任務，但是必要的。如果您有意識但無法說話，您的家人需要哪些信息？與您的資產規劃律師合作，建立必要的法律文件，包括醫療授權書，並告訴您的家人他們所在的位置。有些家庭保留某些文件（如“不要急救”或“藥物清單”），以便緊急救援人員能夠在緊急情況下得知重要的醫療信息。
是的，這是一個很好的待辦事項清單，你不會在一月份完成所有工作。但是，從2019年1月開始，您和您的親人該得到您需要的保障。
參考: Wealth Management (Dec. 12, 2018) “Eight Simple Estate Planning Review Items for 2019”
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