Over the course of this year, this column has covered the building blocks of a Georgia estate plan: what a will does and doesn’t do, the documents that protect you while you’re alive, and the beneficiary designations that can quietly override everything else. This month, I want to tie it all together with something practical. A simple check-in you can do before the year ends.
Set aside fifteen minutes, pull out your estate planning documents (or pull up the digital copies), and ask yourself five questions.
Five Questions for the End of the Year
1. Is my will or trust still current? Have you gotten married, divorced, had a child, or lost a family member since your plan was last updated? Have you bought or sold real estate, started a business, or experienced a significant financial change? If any of these apply, your plan may no longer reflect your actual wishes.
2. Do I have my living documents in place? A financial power of attorney, an advance directive for health care, and a HIPAA authorization. These protect you while you’re alive. If you have a will but not these three documents, your plan has a significant gap.
3. Are my beneficiary designations up to date? Check your retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and any accounts with payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designations. These forms override your will. If they’re outdated, your plan isn’t doing what you think it’s doing.
4. Are the people I’ve named still the right choices? Your executor, your power of attorney agent, your healthcare agent, your children’s guardian if applicable. People’s circumstances change. Make sure the individuals you’ve entrusted are still willing, able, and appropriate for the role.
5. Does my family know where to find everything? The most well-drafted plan in the world is useless if no one can find it during a crisis. Make sure your spouse, your adult children, or your designated agent knows where your documents are stored and who your estate planning attorney is.
The Point of the Exercise
Estate planning isn’t something you do once and put away. It’s a living system that needs occasional attention, which is less than many people give it. A fifteen-minute check-in once a year is enough to catch the gaps before they become problems.
If you worked through these five questions and everything checks out, you’re in good shape. If something felt uncertain or if you realized you’re missing a piece, the start of a new year is an excellent time to address it.
Wishing you and your family a peaceful and well-prepared new year.
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