5 Estate Planning Resolutions to Follow in the New Year

5 ESTATE PLANNING RESOLUTIONS TO FOLLOW IN THE NEW YEAR

​Change is inevitable, but preparation is not. If you don’t invest time in estate planning, your family could be caught unawares by a sudden change nobody has prepared for.  With the new year upon us, why not add estate planning to your list of resolutions? Many unforeseen events occur every year, and in case of sudden misfortunes, it’s wise to protect your loved ones and assets. Below are five estate planning resolutions to consider for the new year, or any time, really, if you are reading this long after the new year:

1. Understand Why You Need an Estate Plan

You’re off to a good start if you already have a will; however, it may not be enough. As explained in one of our former blog posts, a will has limitations, and even if it gets your assets distributed the way you want, will not make the easiest path for your family members. Where a will merely expresses your basic wishes, comprehensive legal documents confirm your beneficiaries will receive specific assets, and smooth out the process for them so that assets can be distributed more quickly and without unnecessary legal and court expenses.

Estate planning also ensures you have appointed decision-makers for medical and financial matters in case you are incapacitated and unable to make decisions. Drafting and implementing your power-of-attorney and health care proxy, or updating them if circumstances have changed for the people you designated previously, is one easy step to take in the new year.  Another is to check your life insurance policies and retirement accounts to make sure that your designated beneficiaries are up to date.  

2. Have the Necessary Tough Conversations

No matter how delicate and sensitive it may be, one should not avoid conversations about death and disability. It’s better to discuss vital decisions and issues with your loved ones now, such as dividing assets, to eliminate friction and ill-feelings escalating. It’s imperative for family members to know and agree on an action plan in case of incapacity or untimely death. Also, at a very basic level, if you have invested time and money in creating an estate plan, you want to make sure your family knows where to find it, and knows who is going to be responsible for administering your estate.  If you haven’t done so already, make it a priority to arrange those types of family discussions during the new year.

3. Make Time for an Update (If You Already Have an Estate Plan)

If you already have an estate plan in place, make sure to keep it updated. Significant milestones or life events, such as marriage, divorce, career change, or children who’ve reached adulthood can significantly affect your current estate plan. There is also the possibility of law and tax changes within your state that can do the same. It’s wise to review your estate plan periodically to ensure everything is up to date.  If you do nothing else to start the new year, a simple call to your estate planning attorney to ask whether anything has changed in the law is an easy way to put your mind at ease for the rest of the year.

4. Create Specific Goals for Your Assets

To whom do your assets pass down after your passing? Are you passing on things that can be easily divided between your heirs, like money, or do you have to figure out how to liquidate or divide things like real property? Do you own a business that you intend for someone to carry on for you into the future?Do you have body of creative work that you want either given to specific people, published, destroyed, or some combination of all three? Are you aware of all of your assets? Before naming beneficiaries and making arrangements, it’s best to have full knowledge of all of your assets. Once you’re fully aware of what legally belongs to you, it’s easier to make the decisions for your family and loved ones accordingly.  Another easy step to start the year on the right foot is to make a simple list of what you have and where you want it to go. Once you do that, you can easily hand off the work of creating your estate plan to your lawyer.

5. Prepare for the Unexpected

Death isn’t the only unexpected misfortune that can affect your family. What if you have an accident or illness that creates the need for long-term care, or renders you incapacitated temporarily? More than often, disabled individuals cannot make sound decisions about their finances or legal assets on their own, and sometimes even if you eventually make a full recovery a could be unable to make those decisions for weeks or months. Take into consideration the possibility of unforeseen events and establish plans that protect your loved ones.  The simplest way to do this is to prepare a durable power of attorney and a health care proxy for each adult in your family, making clear who will be authorized to make those decisions.


An attorney can help you through your decision-making process, ensuring everything is up to date by both terms of law and personal life changes. The trusted attorneys of SLN Law are skilled at thoughtful estate planning, offering proper guidance on decisions that can protect your family from all circumstances.

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About slnlaw

We are a Massachusetts law firm focused on business law, employment law, and estate planning. Our team includes attorneys with large law firm experience, public service experience, experience working with small businesses on a wide variety of matters, an attorney with an advanced degree (LLM), and a former clerk to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.  Attorney and founder Emily Smith-Lee has been named to the Massachusetts Super Lawyers list every year since 2013, and was recently named a 2018 Lawyer of the Year by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.  Our lead estate planning attorney Jenna Ordway has been recognized as a top estate planning attorney, and has published a book about estate planning in Massachusetts.
 
What We Do

• Employment Law: We advise both businesses and individuals about Massachusetts and federal employment laws, and represent them as needed in litigation if a lawsuit cannot be avoided. 
• Business Law: In addition to providing advice on employment matters and defense of employee lawsuits, we can help you set up your new business, review your agreements with vendors and customers, resolve or litigate business disputes, and much more. 
• Estate Planning: We provide customized plans for individuals and families to help minimize your estate tax liability, protect and preserve your assets, and ensure that the people in your life are taken care of the way that you want.  We can help you with wills and trusts, planning for a child with special needs, planning for the cost of long term care, and more.

​We also have an extensive network of other professionals, some lawyers in other practice areas and others who are non-lawyer professionals who offer services that our clients frequently need.  If the problem you need solved is not one that we handle, we are happy to provide a referral to someone we know you can trust.

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"Emily, a chief partner, and the two other lawyers who worked on my case were extremely competent and approachable. They were responsive to inquiries and they thoughtfully explained, as needed, complex legal terms. I was very well represented at each stage of a protracted legal case against a major national firm."  Brian R

"It was a pleasure working with Emily Smith-Lee on a business matter. She willingly shares her expertise and always listens to her clients' concerns. Emily's caring demeanor puts people at ease immediately. The outcome of my experience was quite favorable. I would highly recommend them."  Camille B.

​"Emily is an incredible resource of knowledge on employment law. She helped guide us on how to structure our employee classifications and made adjustments to our consulting agreements so our business is better protected and positioned. She's both law-savvy and business minded - great asset to have when launching/growing a business."  Diana B.

"SLN represented me in a complicated employment-related dispute. What could have been a prolonged nightmare for me was handled swiftly and skillfully, and with fairness and dignity."  Smita N.

​"Previously, I spoke with a couple other lawyers and I did not feel comfortable with their approach prior to calling Emily. Jenna did an excellent job in assessing what I wanted to accomplish and completed my will, trust and other documents in a very short time. I am so happy I made the right choice in choosing slnlaw as my estate team."  Evelyn W.

"Long overdue public words of gratitude for Emily and her associates' work on my behalf.  They were so very respectful of me during an emotionally and financially ridden time- and that mattered more than the positive result.  May all clients have such advocates on their sides!"  Donna B.

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