Idaho Law Blog
By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney
With the New Year upon us, it is time to take care of the basic things that need to be done to make sure that your estate-planning meets all of your personal and family needs. In other words, if you have gone to the trouble to create an estate plan then now is the time to review it and make sure that it accomplishes everything that you want. If you have not yet set up an estate plan, a new year is a perfect opportunity to get it done.
Most people who don’t have a written estate plan haven’t gotten it done because they don’t know how to start. We make the process easy. We provide a free Estate Planning Questionnaire, that we can either email to you or you can download from our web site. This is a PDF document that you can type directly into and save to your computer. You can then email it back to me and we can schedule a free 30-minute consultation to review your information and to discuss the things that are important to you when it comes to your own estate plan.
If you do have an estate plan already then again a new year is a perfect time to review it to make sure that it still accomplishes what you want. The reason for this is that life does not stand still. As time goes by, our lives and the people around us change. If you have gone through any major life changes, then your estate plan may no longer accomplish what you want.
Major life changes would include things such as a person being born, or a person dying. It could also include somebody being married or being divorced. Furthermore, you or someone close to you may have moved away. Additionally, relationships change all the time and someone you may have appointed to do something for you may no longer be the best person for you to choose. Whatever the reason, if you have gone through any type of a major life change, then you should review your estate plan. By simply reading it it will become instantly obvious to you if a change needs to be made.
For example, suppose you are married, and you named your spouse to act as your power of attorney while you are alive, and as your personal representative after you died. Now suppose that during the year 2020 you got divorced from your spouse. Because of this, it’s obvious that you will no longer want this individual to serve in the appointments that you made while you were married to them.
As another example, suppose that rather than being divorced, your spouse passed away. In this example, your spouse is no longer available to do the things that you wanted them to do. Again, it’s obvious that you would want to update your estate plan to make sure there are individuals who are available to do the things that you need to have done.
Don’t let estate-planning overwhelm you. Resolve in your mind that you’re going to do something about either updating or creating your estate plan this year. We make the process as simple and easy as possible through our Questionnaire and our free 30-minute consultation. Please contact us today so we can help you get started.
ENLIST AN IDAHO ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY TO HELP YOU
If you have any questions about your estate or how to simplify your plans for your family and loved ones, we can help. Call us toll free at 877-232-6101 or 208-232-6101 for a free consultation with Lane Erickson and the Racine Olson team of Estate Planning attorneys in Pocatello. You can also email Lane Erickson directly at lane@racineolson.com. We will answer your questions and will help you solve your Pocatello estate planning problems. I have helped numerous clients create their own customized estate plans and I’m confident that I can help you too.