Page 14 - June 2024 Issue Website

Avoid These Estate • Not updating wills and other documents – Drafting a

Planning Mistakes will and other legal documents, such as a living trust,
is an important step in your estate planning. But you
shouldn’t just create these arrangements and forget
Submitted by Ann Jacobs, Financial about them. Changes in your life and among your loved
Advisor, Edward Jones - Denton ones — deaths, divorce, remarriage, new children and
410-479-0271 more — may result in the need for you to update your
estate plans, so it’s a good idea to review them periodi-
By the time you reach retirement age, you may have accumu- cally.
lated a 401(k), IRA and other investment accounts, along with • Not updating beneficiaries – Similar to updating your
insurance policies and physical properties. You’ll use some of will to reflect changes in your life and family situation,
these assets to support your retirement, but the rest may end you may also need to update the beneficiaries listed on
up in your estate — which is why an estate plan is so important. your financial accounts and insurance policies. These
So, to leave a legacy for your family and those philanthropic designations carry a lot of weight and can even super-
groups you support, you need a comprehensive estate plan — sede instructions in your will, so you’ll need to make
and you need to avoid making mistakes. Here are some of the sure they are current and accurate.
most common ones: • Not properly titling assets in a trust – Depending on
your situation, you may benefit from establishing a
• Procrastinating – Estate planning, and its implications
about our mortality, may not be a pleasant topic to think living trust, which may allow your estate to avoid the
about. Yet, putting off your estate plans can be risky. If time-consuming and expensive process of probate. A
you were to pass away or become incapacitated without living trust also helps give you control over how, and
doing any estate planning, the results could be costly when, you want your assets distributed. However, you
for your loved ones. One possible consequence: If you need to retitle your assets in the name of the trust for
haven’t at least created a basic, simple will, the courts the trust to be effective.
could decide how to divide and distribute your assets, • Not choosing the right executor – An executor carries
and they may do so in a way you wouldn’t want. out your wishes based on the instructions you’ve given
in your will or trust documents. But fulfilling an execu-
tor’s duties is not as simple as, say, following a recipe for
a basic meal. Consequently, while you might just want
to pick a close family member as executor, you need
> edwardjones.com | Member SIPC to be sure this person is competent, good with details
and won’t be overwhelmed by the financial and legal
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Call or visit your local financial advisor today. Devoting the necessary time and effort can help you avoid
many of the mistakes that threaten the effectiveness of estate
Ann M Jacobs, AAMS®
Financial Advisor plans — and the fewer mistakes you make, the better off your
105 Franklin St beneficiaries can be.
Denton, MD 21629-1207
410-479-0271
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