4 Quick Tasks To Keep Your Estate Plan In Great Shape

4 Quick Tasks To Keep Your Estate Plan In Great Shape

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

December 27, 2024

Image by M. Gustafson Gervasi,
2024
Departing buses, Panama

There is a “National Day For ……” everything, including “Still Need To Do Day”, which is celebrated on December 29th.  A day that is set aside to make a final push to complete items on their To-Do List of the current year.  While 2024 may be fading fast, there is still time for those eager to create or update an estate plan.  In fact, you may be off of work this week, creating more more free time than usual.  Here are 4 quick tasks you can work on before 2025 arrives:

1. Print off your holiday mailing card list and put a hard copy with your estate planning documents.  I do this every year.  When my earthly time comes to an end I want my loved ones to send a note to those I felt close enough to receive a holiday card.  Having a printed list of names and addresses is low-tech and easy has heck to access in a time of grief;
2. Confirm beneficiary designations on your retirement accounts, life insurance and other substantial financial assets say what you think you say.  Take this one step further and print out the designations to add to your estate planning documents.  Hard copy proof of those designations may be extremely helpful to your heirs as they process end-of-life documents; 
3. Create a list of all your online platforms, and I mean ALL of them.  From Netflix to LinkedIn to Bluesky – where do you spend time in the digital world.  Perhaps you ended accounts in 2024 in an effort to clean up and purge platforms you no longer use.  An list of current accounts will be immensely helpful to whomever you have put in charge of your final affairs; and 
4. Document that name and contact information for the professional services you rely on: accountant, financial planner, housekeeper, lawn person, pet sitter, and other service providers that might be needed if you are suddenly ill and not able to handle your normal routine.  Again, I recommend putting these on paper – which is a lot easier to access than a digital form on your iphone or computer. 

If you found this post helpful, consider sharing it on your social media.  Get notified of future posts by following this blog; enter your email above, in the upper right hand corner.  And remember, a blog is not legal advice.  It is meant to spark thought and reflection.  It is best to seek legal advice from an attorney in your state of residence.  Thank you for reading and best wishes for 2025!