"It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."
- Yogi Berra
Your estate plan acts as a road map, detailing how your affairs should be handled after your death. It also includes instructions for managing your care and your property if you ever lose the ability to manage your affairs during your lifetime. The word "estate" is a catch-all term for everything you own, such as your house, car, checking and saving accounts, life insurance, retirement plans, and personal possessions. The size and contents of an estate may vary, but every person has an estate to plan for. Creating a customized estate plan is an invaluable way of giving peace of mind to both you and your loved ones. You will have the opportunity to make your wishes and instructions clear to your loved ones, and in turn, your loved ones will receive detailed instructions about managing your affairs.
A will and a revocable trust are two documents that serve as the foundation of many estate plans. Both a will and a revocable trust will identify who you wish to receive your property after you die, what you wish them to receive, and when they are to receive it. Those documents also contain a nomination for a person to supervise the handling of your affairs after you die (an "executor" for a will, and a "trustee" for a revocable trust). The will and the revocable trust are supplemented with other documents, such as a financial power of attorney and an advance healthcare directive, which provide for the management of your affairs if you lose the capacity to make your own decisions during your lifetime.
When an estate plan is in place, its documents may require some maintenance within your lifetime. Family members come and go, relationships change, and it's possible that an estate plan that made sense five or ten years ago no longer reflects your wishes. It's a good idea to revisit your estate planning documents every couple years to ensure that the provisions are up to date and still what you intend.