Estate planning involves essential duties that anyone interested in transferring assets to beneficiaries may wish to pursue. Contrary to what some may assume, even those persons of modest means could benefit from drawing up estate plans. Also, there aren’t necessarily any inconvenient times to discuss estate planning. Michigan residents might find the holidays a reasonable time of the year to do so.
Holiday estate planning
The holiday season might bring some downtime for those enjoying a relaxed work schedule. The added free time could allow someone to review estate plans or draw up new ones. While the season may be festive, having several relatives at one’s home presents a chance to discuss estate plans in person.
An estate planner could take the holiday season as a chance to review documents to see if they are all current. If not, the planner May make arrangements to update the documents at the first opportunity. Such updates could be seasonally motivated, as the time of the year is one of giving. Perhaps the planner wants to adjust charitable giving directives. Thoughts about gift giving to relatives may prompt changes to a will or trust to modify what assets transfer to them.
Additional points about holidays and estate planning
Estate planners should understand that the law does not accept taking time off for the holidays as an excuse. In other words, whatever a will or POA states in its text remains the law until the testator changes it. If someone decides to wait until January 2nd to change the estate planning documents, The previous documents will remain in effect until the changes occur. If something unexpected happens on December 26th, intentions to change the will may not have legal merit.
The holiday season is not a time of the year that is usually associated with legal matters. Yet, it could be a workable time to take part in estate planning.