Challenge 11: Track Your Life Stage Events and Estate Plans

 

 

Successful investing isn’t just limited to what goes into your portfolio and how it is managed. Periodic adjustments are needed when a change in your life occurs. Similarly important is maintaining updated estate planning documents.

Failing to do either can lead to unintended problems. Some of the problems might be nuisances in terms of relative scale. Others could lead to court fights and/or unwanted transfers of wealth.

Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to reduce the odds of such problems occurring. What you need is a little bit of organization and a commitment to a regular review process. For the latter, setting up a recurring reminder in your smartphone or on your computer works really well.

As far as organization is concerned, the two worksheets below will assist you. The first is an inventory of key estate planning information. The second is a life stage changes checklist. Both are simple but highly effective tools.

The inventory of key estate documents lists information that will be invaluable to your spouse and heirs. It informs them what accounts you have and who the fiduciaries are on each account. It also informs them about the pensions and life insurance policies you may have and the professionals you may work with. Having this information enables them to quickly step in on your behalf.

The life stage worksheet prompts you to think about what might have changed in your life. If something significant has occurred, we encourage you to go back to the beginning of the Individual Investor Wealth-Building Process and revisit the goals (Challenge 1) and risk tolerance worksheets (Challenge 2) to determine if a change in your investing strategy is warranted.