Estate planning doesn’t always require a massive overhaul. In fact, small updates—especially when done regularly—can prevent the most stressful and expensive problems for your family later on.
That’s why June, the mid-point of the year, is a perfect time for a quick check-in.
Below is a simple six-point checklist to help ensure your plan is not just done, but still working for you.
1. Check Your Beneficiaries
Your IRA, life insurance, and retirement accounts have their own forms that control who gets what—no matter what your will or trust says.
Quick tweak: Make sure the listed beneficiaries match your overall estate plan. Update them if needed, especially after major life events like births, divorces, or deaths.
2. Review Who’s in Charge
Are the people named in your plan—executor, trustee, power of attorney—still the right choices?
Quick tweak: If someone has moved away, aged out, or had a falling out, it might be time to update your documents with someone better suited for the role.
3. Test Your Trust (Literally)
If you have a living trust, the trust must actually own your assets to avoid probate.
Quick tweak: Check that your home, key accounts, and other significant assets are correctly titled in the name of the trust—or that beneficiary designations direct them there.
4. Update Contact Information
Did your trustee or power of attorney get a new phone number? Did your attorney move offices?
Quick tweak: Make sure your key contacts can be easily reached if something happens.
5. Inventory Your Digital Life
Your photos, emails, banking logins, and cloud storage don’t live in a file cabinet.
Quick tweak: Create a secure list of accounts and passwords and let your trusted agent know how to access it if needed.
6. Schedule a 30-Minute Review
Sometimes the best tweak is simply making time to review everything with your attorney.
Quick tweak: A mid-year check-in is often enough to catch problems before they turn into real issues—and it gives you peace of mind for the second half of the year.
Wrap-Up: A Little Time Now Saves a Lot Later
None of these updates take more than a few minutes, but together they can make a huge difference in how your plan works when it’s truly needed.
Treat this like a seasonal reset—just like changing the batteries in your smoke detectors or servicing your car. Your estate plan deserves the same care.
