Family Focus - Conclusion

We were able to learn a lot from our friends Bill and Susie.  In case you missed the first four installments of this series, they are available here:

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

As we saw with Bill and Susie, their life circumstances continued to change and evolve throughout their lives.  Although we can plan all we want, sometimes life just does not turn out according to our plans.  For this reason, it is extremely important to review and keep an estate plan up-to-date.

Another important task that can be accomplished throughout the estate planning process is to create an asset and liabilities listing.  This list, which can outline how assets are owned, beneficiary designations, account numbers, online accounts, passwords, etc., can all be kept with your important legal documents.  This "non-legal" type list will be extremely helpful to someone who has to handle your business and may not be familiar with it.

Like your estate plan, your asset/liabilities list should be kept as up-to-date as possible.  However, maybe most importantly, make sure someone you trust knows where to find your documents.  They do not do much good if they are hidden in a place where they will never be found.

As this series comes to a close, and we are in the midst of the holidays, I want to take the opportunity to thank those that followed along.  That being said, power off those devices, and spend some quality time with those who make this life worth living.