10 Important Tasks to Do No Matter What Time of Year

By Jenny Ling, Esq.

No matter what time of year it is, here are 10 important tasks you should make sure to complete to ensure that your family is taken care of, and that there is no question about what your wishes are:

1.  Complete or update your estate planning. Make 2025 the year you Make a Plan.  Make an appointment  for a complimentary 15-minute phone call with Jenny to get the ball rolling.  Figure out why you have been procrastinating and conquer your fears.  If you are concerned about the cost of making a plan, all our estate planning services are offered on a flat-fee basis so you can find a plan that fits your life and your budget and include a review every 3 years.

If you have an estate plan but it is more than 5 years old, have it reviewed.  An estate plan that is out of date can put you and your family at risk.  You spent the time and effort needed to create an estate plan that will protect your family – make sure it can grow with your family.

2.  Update and sign health care documents.  At a minimum, everyone over the age of 18 needs two essential health care documents: (i) a Health Care Power of Attorney; and (ii) a Health Care Directive.  You should ask yourself, “If I am ever incapacitated and can’t make my own decisions, who do I want making decisions on my behalf?”  A Health Care Power of Attorney names someone you trust to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are unable to make them yourself.  A Health Care Directive, also known as a Living Will, provides specific directives about the course of treatment healthcare providers and caregivers are to follow when you are diagnosed as terminally ill or permanently unconscious.  A Health Care Directive is used only if you have become unable to give informed consent or refusal due to incapacity.

3.  Review and update guardians for minor children.  As a parent, it can be hard to imagine your child’s life if you aren’t around.  But it is essential that you make a plan for your children if something happens to you.  If you have minor children, naming a guardian for them should be your number one priority.  If you have named guardians already, take some time to review them.  Do they still make sense for your family?

4.  Review and update beneficiary designations.  You should review your beneficiary designations annually as part of an overall review of your estate plan, and immediately update your beneficiaries upon events like divorce, deaths, and births.  Your beneficiary designations are an important part of your estate plan and should be made to fit in with your overall plan.

5.  Review and update your life insurance.  Check the amount of your life insurance coverage and see if it still meets your family’s current needs.

6.  Review your digital assets.  You want to make sure you pass along everything you've worked for, including your digital assets.  Digital assets include items with financial value, like bitcoin, money in your Venmo or Paypal accounts, or websites or blogs that generate income.  Some digital assets have no financial value but do have a tremendous amount of sentimental value, like photos stored in the cloud, music, videos, email accounts and social media accounts.  It is just as important to make a plan for these assets so that your family does not lose access to them in the case of your incapacity or death.

7.  Talk to your children about your estate plan.  You don’t have to tell your children exactly how much you have or how you plan to distribute it, but you can talk in general, age-appropriate, terms about what you are planning and why.  The more they understand it, the more likely they are to readily accept it – and that will help to avoid discord after you are gone.

8.  Talk to your parents about their estate plan.  If your parents are thinking about putting an estate plan in place, or if your parents have already created or obtained estate planning documents, talk with them about their plan, especially if you are the person in the family who will be tasked with taking care of it all.   Ask them if they plan to leave money to your children (their grandchildren) and how. 

9.  Get basic documents for your unmarried kids who are over 18.  While your 18-year-old may still be a child to you, remember that he or she is now legally an adult. You will no longer be able to make your child’s health care decisions on their behalf.  And as parents, you also cannot act on your child’s behalf in financial transactions.  There are a few simple documents your child can sign that will allow you to help them when they need it.

10. Make A Plan to Leave More Than Money.  Write a letter or record your stories – a chance for you to transition not only your financial wealth after you are gone, but your even more valuable wealth - who you are and what's important to you. It is this that your family will most treasure for generations well after the money has gone.

No matter what time of year it is, now is the time to do what you’ve been putting off until the time is right. Make a Plan for the people you love because at some point you will become sick or die.  Comprehensive planning will enable you to have peace of mind knowing that your family is taken care of, and that there is no question about what your wishes are.  Contact Us to get these important tasks completed.

Jenny Ling is a partner at the Law Offices of Jenny Ling, PLLC.  She focuses her practices on estate planning, business succession planning, business and bankruptcy.