Coronavirus Considerations for Your Estate Plan

With Coronavirus (COVID-19) changing the ways we live, work, and socialize, you may be wondering how this new way of life impacts your estate plan. 

The best way to push through this challenging time is by taking thoughtful steps to ensure the people and things you love are protected for the long haul. Taking the time to create or update your estate plan is a great thing to check off your to-do list right now. 

The most important thing you can do right now is to ensure you and your family are safe and following all instructions from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Once you have addressed the immediate issue of health and safety, you can take steps to plan and protect your future.

If you haven’t already, now is the time to:

• Create an estate plan. No matter where you are in life, all adults should have an estate plan. No matter your assets or whether or not you have children, there are certain steps you need to take to insure your future is planned for according to your wishes. At the very least, you should create a last will and testament to outline what will happen to your assets and officially name healthcare and financial powers of attorney and an executor for your will. 

If you’re completely new to estate planning, this may sound overwhelming. Don’t stress: an experienced estate planning attorney like me, Paul Margerie, can help you get started. 

• Review your existing estate plan. If you already have an estate plan, that is great – you are among the mere 30% of American adults who have taken this crucial step to protect their futures. But an estate plan is not a set-it-and-forget-it document. Rather, an estate plan should grow and change as your life evolves, and you need to make time to review and update it regularly.

In light of the coronavirus, our health is top of mind. While it can be scary to think about the possibility of ourselves or one of our loved ones passing away, setting down a plan for the future can actually help alleviate some of the fear and stress. Now is the time to look over important estate planning documents like your last will and testament and instructions for your healthcare power of attorney and end-of-life care. 

• Choose who will represent your interests. A solid estate plan doesn’t just contain documents; there are several important roles that people in your life must play to ensure your wishes are fulfilled no matter what happens. You will want to be sure to name a trusted person as the executor of your will. This is the person who, after you pass away, oversees the often complex process of guiding the will through the probate process, distributing assets based on your instructions, and many other important duties. 

You will also want to name both a healthcare and financial power of attorney. This can be two different people or one person for both roles. The healthcare power of attorney is responsible for making healthcare decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated and unable to do so yourself. The financial power of attorney does the same: ensuring your wishes are fulfilled in regards to financial matters should you become unable to oversee this process yourself. 

If you do not decide who will fulfill these important roles, the courts take over. If you aren’t sure you have anyone in your life you can trust with these duties, your estate planning attorney can help. 

• Update your beneficiaries. While you’re at home, now is a great time to log into your various bank, insurance, and retirement accounts to review whom you have named as beneficiaries. The people you want to benefit from your assets may change over time. Some banks also allow you to name a beneficiary who is payable-on-death (POD), meaning the assets in the account would pass directly to the beneficiary without having to go through the probate process. 

• Make sure your estate plan meets your current and future needs. An effective estate plan is much more than just a last will and testament. An estate plan is also not a one-size-fits-all thing. Here at Margerie Law, I take great pride in getting to know my clients as well as possible so I can best guide them in crafting an estate plan that is comprehensive, legally sound, and tailored to meet their current and future needs. 

In this time of great uncertainty, there are things you can do to enhance your peace of mind. One of those things is making sure your estate plan is up-to-date. Here at Margerie Law, I proudly serve clients in Milwaukee, Brookfield, Elm Grove, and all across Southeast Wisconsin with expert estate planning services. Give me a call to get started today.