You have your estate plan completed because you’re a financially-adulting adult.
Congratulations.
But it’s not quite “set it and forget it.”
We recommend reaching out to your “people” annually to remind them they agreed to be “your people”.
You want to reach out to your:
1. Successor Trustees
2. Guardians
3. Financial Powers-of-Attorney
4. Healthcare Powers-of-Attorney
None of these people are legally obligated to serve as your people.
So checking in with them isn’t just considerate.
It also ensures that if their situation has changed, they (and you) can make adjustments.
Maybe they’re now caring for an elder parent and taking care of your kids on top of that would crush them. You want to get in front of that.
Maybe they’ve had their own medical issues pop up and caring for their own AND your healthcare decisions as your POA would be too much. You want to get in front of that.
Or maybe you and your BFF from a decade ago have drifted apart and neither of you would want them executing your estate. You want to get in front of that.
To make it super easy, here’s a template you can use:
Hey so-and-so,
We’re just doing some annual housekeeping and wanted to reach out to make sure you’re still up to serve as our [trustee/guardian/POA] in case something happens to [spouse] and me.
Don’t be alarmed, we’re not expecting anything at all and everyone’s in perfect health.
It’s just a recommendation from the best financial planning firm in the world – Financial Zen – that we check in with you annually to make sure you’re still willing and able.
Let me know and let’s catch up soon!
Love ya!
[your name]
I HIGHLY recommend not making any edits. Just fill in the blanks and send 100% as-is. ????
