Securing Your Legacy: Estate Planning for Empty Nesters
Estate Planning After Launching Your ChildrenNo more school buses. No more huge grocery lists. The last bird has left, and now the nest is empty!
You may feel sad or you may be overjoyed. You may not truly feel like an “empty nester” if you are still paying college tuition or loans for college tuition. You may just be trying to remember what life is like without your kids in the house. Either way, one thing you may overlook is the importance of taking a step back and taking a look at your estate as a whole. When was the last time you revised your estate plan? If you’re like many busy parents of toddlers then teenagers, the answer is “decades ago.” Perhaps you put a will in place when your children were born, to ensure they were taken care of in the event of your untimely passing, but it’s probably gone largely unchanged since then. You may have acquired more property or assets. You may have had more children. You may have divorced and remarried. At any time of change in your life (and becoming an empty nester qualifies), it’s smart to assess the validity and accuracy of your estate plan, ensuring it lines up with your current wishes. Here are five quick tips on why and how to update your estate plan: |
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Tip #1: Revisit Powers of Attorney and Health Care Proxies
One of the functions of an estate plan is to name the individuals you’d wish to care for your finances if you become incapacitated or die, as well as the individual you’d like to make healthcare decisions for you. Have these people remained the same?
You may have previously named spouses, siblings or parents, but over the course of 18+ years, family members may have aged or passed, and you may have divorced. If your children are older and trusted, it may be time to pass this responsibility to them, as they are more likely to outlive you.
Also, you can get your adult children started on their own planning by getting them each a health care proxy and a durable power of attorney. Now that they are legal adults, you will not automatically be able to step into this role for them. Not only can this help protect them if they get sick or injured, but you can help get them thinking about taking responsibility for their planning in the process.
You may have previously named spouses, siblings or parents, but over the course of 18+ years, family members may have aged or passed, and you may have divorced. If your children are older and trusted, it may be time to pass this responsibility to them, as they are more likely to outlive you.
Also, you can get your adult children started on their own planning by getting them each a health care proxy and a durable power of attorney. Now that they are legal adults, you will not automatically be able to step into this role for them. Not only can this help protect them if they get sick or injured, but you can help get them thinking about taking responsibility for their planning in the process.
Tip #2: Determine How You Will Pass on Your Inheritance to Grown Children
If you created an estate plan when your children were very young, you may have left all of your assets to your spouse to distribute amongst your children, or you and your spouse may have created a trust to hold your collective assets until your children reached a certain age.
If your children are now adults, you may wish to revisit trust provisions put in place to care for minor children that are now outdated, and revise your trust to reflect the adults they’ve become. Have your children added grandchildren to the family? You will likely desire to revise your will to reflect any gifts to your grandchildren. You may also be at the point where you no longer feel you need to have assets held in trust for your children, and want to revise your documents to provide for a more immediate inheritance.
If your children are now adults, you may wish to revisit trust provisions put in place to care for minor children that are now outdated, and revise your trust to reflect the adults they’ve become. Have your children added grandchildren to the family? You will likely desire to revise your will to reflect any gifts to your grandchildren. You may also be at the point where you no longer feel you need to have assets held in trust for your children, and want to revise your documents to provide for a more immediate inheritance.
Tip #3: Address Life Insurance Needs (or Lack Thereof)
Your previous estate plan likely included life insurance policies for you and/or your spouse. The amount of insurance you carried was probably based on an amount that would have provided for raising your children, paying for their education, and keeping your family in the home.
But now that you have probably acquired more assets over the course of the last decade or two and your children are self-sufficient, you may not need to maintain the same level of life insurance coverage you did previously. It’s the right time to look at what’s needed for your family members above and beyond your estate, and only pay for coverage for the gap.
But now that you have probably acquired more assets over the course of the last decade or two and your children are self-sufficient, you may not need to maintain the same level of life insurance coverage you did previously. It’s the right time to look at what’s needed for your family members above and beyond your estate, and only pay for coverage for the gap.
Tip #4: Start Considering a Long-Term Care Strategy
Believe it or not, it is not too early to begin thinking about what happens if you or your spouse need assisted living or long term care in the future. These costs are not paid by health insurance or Medicare, so some planning is required if you don't want to risk depleting your assets in your final years.
There are basically three strategies: (i) save up enough money to cover the costs (currently between $8,000-$12,000 per month); (ii) purchase long term care insurance; and (iii) place some assets out of reach in an irrevocable trust so that they will not count against you if you ever need to get Medicaid assistance with the costs of care.
If you have enough assets that you can comfortably reserve for future care costs, that is great. Unfortunately, that is not the case for many families, given the high cost of care.
If you are considering long term care insurance, now is the time to investigate. It will only get more expensive and more restrictive as you age. Remember that most policies do not cover 100% of the costs, so you may need to combine this with another strategy.
Placing assets out of reach: you can do this by placing them in a specific kind of irrevocable trust, or gradually gifting them directly to your heirs. The important thing to remember is the Medicaid has a five year look back. This means if you transfer assets within five years of needing assistance, they will still be counted against you for eligibility purposes. Depending on your age, it might be early still to place these kinds of limits on your assets- typically people take this step in their sixties and early seventies- but it should at least be on your radar screen.
There are basically three strategies: (i) save up enough money to cover the costs (currently between $8,000-$12,000 per month); (ii) purchase long term care insurance; and (iii) place some assets out of reach in an irrevocable trust so that they will not count against you if you ever need to get Medicaid assistance with the costs of care.
If you have enough assets that you can comfortably reserve for future care costs, that is great. Unfortunately, that is not the case for many families, given the high cost of care.
If you are considering long term care insurance, now is the time to investigate. It will only get more expensive and more restrictive as you age. Remember that most policies do not cover 100% of the costs, so you may need to combine this with another strategy.
Placing assets out of reach: you can do this by placing them in a specific kind of irrevocable trust, or gradually gifting them directly to your heirs. The important thing to remember is the Medicaid has a five year look back. This means if you transfer assets within five years of needing assistance, they will still be counted against you for eligibility purposes. Depending on your age, it might be early still to place these kinds of limits on your assets- typically people take this step in their sixties and early seventies- but it should at least be on your radar screen.
Tip #5: Begin Planning for Retirement
Launching your children should mean that many of the major expenses are behind you. This makes it a great time to check in on your retirement planning, and re-allocating resources that you no longer have to spend to those savings. If you own and run a family business, it is especially important to begin thinking about your retirement and succession plan, and begin putting a plan in place to pass on your interests to an heir or to a buyer.
How We Can Help
At slnlaw, we understand the unique challenges and opportunities that come with the empty nest phase of life. Our experienced estate planning attorneys specialize in guiding empty nesters through the process of updating their estate plans to reflect their current circumstances and goals. Whether you need to revise your will, update powers of attorney, or plan for retirement and long-term care, our team is here to provide personalized guidance and support every step of the way. Let us help you secure your legacy and ensure your family's future with confidence and peace of mind. You can use the button below to schedule a free information call, or give us a call at (781) 784-2322.
Meet Our Estate Planning Lawyers
![Emily Smith-Lee Employment Lawyer](/uploads/4/2/9/3/42934673/published/lea-headshot-2_253.jpg)
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year.
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Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna wrote a book on estate planning: The Road to Peace of Mind: What You Need to Know About Estate Planning. Jenna has helped many individuals and families with planning to protect their legacies and loved ones, and planning for the future and succession of their businesses.
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Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and earned her LLM in estate planning from Western New England Scool of Law in 2016. She has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has helped many clients with planning for their legacies and their future, and navigating the probate process in Massachusetts after the death of a loved one.