5 Estate Planning Tasks to Check Off Before A Vacation
Planning a trip this summer? Here are five things that you should make sure to do before you leave town:
1. Double Check Your Beneficiary Designations: Make a list of all the accounts or policies with beneficiary designations listed. This could include retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, life insurance, health savings accounts (HSAs), bank accounts, and others. Check each to ensure that the beneficiary designations are appropriately filled out.
Pro tip: Sometimes beneficiary designations will randomly disappear (misfiled paperwork, or a company merges with another company and designations vanish in the paperwork shuffle), so it’s wise to semi-regularly check that your beneficiary designations are still in place.
2. Ensure Access to Passwords and Backups: This is a good time to make sure that your fiduciaries (your Personal Representative/“Executor”, your Trustee, your Attorney-in-Fact/“Power of Attorney”) have access to the most important passwords and your online footprint. This is a big deal! If you get into an accident and are incapacitated, it is a lot easier for someone to take care of you and your assets if they can actually get into your devices, assets, and accounts. You should also make sure that your important devices are backed up.
Pro tip: The most important passwords to write down are, in this order: (a) your phone, (b) your email, and (c) your computer/tablet.
3. Store Your Documents and Share Location: This is a good opportunity to make sure that you know where your estate planning documents are stored—and make sure that your “important people” (Personal Representative, Health Care Agent, Attorney-in-Fact/Power of Attorney) know where to find the documents. You can also take a little time to send scanned copies to those people.
Pro tip: Do not put your estate planning documents in a safety deposit box unless someone other than you has the ability to access them. It is a hassle and a process to get them out of the safety deposit box if you are the only person with access to it (if we even know that you have the box to begin with).
4. Give Authority for Parental Decisions in Your Absence: If you are traveling without your kids and you have entrusted them to someone else, it may be a good idea to get a Delegation of Parental Authority (DOPA) completed. This document gives another person, who you nominate, the ability to make major parental decisions in your absence.
Pro tip: Most of the time, the caregiver won’t need this, but if you are gone for an extended period, this can make it easier for the person taking care of your child to handle medical and daycare related issues, especially if school-related decisions need to be made.
5. Double Check Your Existing Estate Plan: Take this opportunity to quickly review your existing estate planning documents:
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- Do you have the right people inheriting assets, in the way you want them to?
- Do you have the right people nominated as guardian for your child(ren)? Do you have the right backups?
- Do you have the right people serving in financial roles, and do you have the right people listed as backups?
- Do you have the right people making health care decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated, and do you have the right backups?
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It’s wise to ensure that your estate plan accurately records your current wishes and relationships. Remember that your estate planning documents are a reflection of your relationships and your current goals. If those goals or relationships change over time, you may need to also update your documents.
Pro tip: If you need to update your estate plan prior to leaving town, you should try to schedule the appointment as soon as possible. The earlier you get this process started, the more likely it is that you will be able to finish prior to leaving on your trip.
The material contained or linked to in this blog is for general informational purposes only, and is not intended to create or constitute an attorney-client relationship between Courtney Law Office, PLLC and any person. The information is not offered as legal advice and should not be construed as legal advice. Readers should not act on the information presented without consulting an attorney about your specific situation. Communications with the Courtney Law Office are not confidential unless a legal relationship is established by a representation agreement. If you would like to establish a legal relationship and seek legal advice, please reach out.
