Did you make a New Year’s resolutions for 2025? Most Americans do, but they often are not very successful at accomplishing the goals they have set for themselves. In fact, CBS News reports that around half of all Americans create New Year resolutions but 75% have already stopped working on their resolutions by the time 30 days have passed. Sadly, by year’s end, only 10% of people actually followed through on the plans they had made.
If you are deciding on what resolutions you should set for yourself this year, getting your estate plan in order should definitely be on your list. In fact, you can and should make some specific estate planning resolutions so you can end 2025 with your legacy protected and your family’s future secure. You should also take one specific step as early as possible in the year to make sure you are among the 10% that accomplish your goal.
Here are the estate planning resolutions to make, along with the secret on how to actually achieve them.
Make sure your estate planning documents are in place and updated
One of the most important resolutions you can make for 2025 is to ensure you have a complete, up-to-date estate plan. You want to ensure your plan:
- Determines how assets are distributed to loved ones
- Addresses the needs of your beneficiaries and heirs (for example, if you have relatives with special needs, you can create a special needs trust).
- Provides instructions on who should care for your pets after you are gone
- Names a guardian for any minor children
- Addresses your healthcare needs such as what kinds of medical care you want to accept or refuse in an emergency situation
- Creates a durable power of attorney which puts the right person in charge of managing your affairs in the event that you become unable to do so
- Protects your assets from being lost to creditors, lawsuits, or if you must go into a nursing home and need to pay for expensive care
- Provides instructions for who should serve as the executor of your estate and oversee the probate process
- Takes steps to avoid probate if you want assets to pass more privately to your heirs and if you want to reduce the time it takes to transfer money or property
- Reduces or eliminates estate taxes if you have a larger estate that exceeds the thresholds for the amount of assets you will be able to pass tax free.
- Ensures the continuity of a family business if applicable
These are some of the key things that you should make certain your estate plan accomplishes. If you already have a plan in place, you should confirm that it accomplishes all of these things and that your wishes are up to date given your current life situation. If you do not already have a plan in place, you will want to create one that checks off all of these objectives.
There are many different estate planning tools that you can use to address these issues, and choosing the right ones will be a key part of fulfilling this resolution and ensuring you provide for your family after you are gone.
Empower your family with the information they need
In addition to putting a plan in place, you also want to make sure that your family is prepared with the necessary information if something should happen to you.
This does not necessarily mean you need to discuss every detail of your estate planning process with your loved ones. Your decision about how much to share is a personal one that should be made based on your relationship with your family and your preferences regarding whether your loved ones know about their inheritance in advance.
What you should do, though, is make sure your loved ones are not going to struggle to manage things if something happens to you. For example, if your family might not know what assets you have, or may not know how to find the appropriate accounts when you are gone, you’ll want to sure to address these issues. Otherwise, things could get difficult and expensive when you pass away, and it is possible some of your money and property won’t be distributed appropriately.
Some people like to create a special book or a special file of information that their loved ones can use after their death to find out all of the details they need to know. This can be a good idea to simplify things, especially if you have many assets or if your financial situation is complicated. You will want to include as much detail as possible if you create this book, and don’t forget to think about things like whether you want your family to notify your employer or to notify online friends or communities you may have been a part of.
By putting preparations in place to make things easier for your loved ones after your death, you can make it much easier for your family to cope with the logistics during their time of grief.
How to make sure to follow through on your resolutions
Now that you know some goals to set, how can you actually follow through on your resolutions? It’s simple. Schedule a consultation with an estate planning attorney as soon as possible. A Middleton, WI estate planning lawyer at Krueger Hernandez & Thompson SC can take care of all of the formalities of putting your plans in place or keeping them updated.
Our legal team can discuss your goals and create or update the documents you need to make sure your legacy is secure. All you have to do is give us a call at 608-824-9540 or sign up for a comprehensive, informative seminar on estate planning topics to accomplish your estate planning resolutions and set yourself and your family up for the future.
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