When I am meeting with clients to do their tax planning for the next year, one of the items that I ask about is how up to date their estate planning documents are.
It is surprising who has their done and who does not. If you do not have valid or up to date documents, you may as well have none.
Not only will this cost your estate money, but there are unintended consequences as well. Without valid documents to the contrary, your estate flows through the legal system and is distributed by rule of law. Not how you wanted your estate, but how the government thinks it should go.
One of the simplest ways to correct and the cheapest by far is to review your beneficiaries on your life insurance, 401K’s, Traditional IRA’s, Roth and any other qualified investments that you have.
These documents flow by rule of law and you have direct control over you gets what. So make sure that all beneficiaries are alive. Did you set it up before you were married and named your now deceased parents? Or did you change it when you were married, but didn’t change it at the divorce.
Review your documents. Make sure they follow your plans. Make sure you have a plan. If you need help we can assist to a point, then we can refer you to a qualified attorney.