our estate plan should be reviewed occasionally and linking it to the annual tax season could be beneficial.
The tax season is a time for gathering all of your key financial information and is an excellent time to take a look at your estate plan. While doing your taxes you will be gathering much of the same documentation needed to review an estate plan. In addition, the documentation will be fresh in your mind.
Accounting Web recently offered some tips about estate planning during the tax season in “Estate Planning Reminders for This Tax Season.”
Don't Forget These Estate Planning Tips This Tax Season
Review or Get a Will
Spend a little time to review your will and make sure everything is up to date. If you do not already have a will, visit with an estate planning attorney about getting one.
Prepare a Letter of Instruction
Make a list of your assets, where they are located, and how they should be handled in your estate.
Review Beneficiaries
Since you should have the asset documentation available as part of your tax preparation, make sure all beneficiary designations are up to date.
Consider a Trust
Again since you already have the documentation handy, tax time is a good time to have a trust drawn up and to transfer assets into the trust.
Beware Free Lunches
Many shady companies like to offer free seminars on estate planning or retirement planning around tax season. They know people tend to worry about their finances at tax time. Often these seminars offer a free lunch. Usually, these are nothing more than heavy-handed sales pitches and you should avoid them.
The person who prepares your taxes and your estate planning attorney could work together. Consider it as tax time comes around.
