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The New Year is a Perfect Opportunity to Finally Get Your Affairs in Order—Stop Procrastinating!

Bobbi Meloro • January 3, 2023

Ready for the New Year, 2023? Finalizing your list of resolutions? While you celebrated and enjoyed the holidays with your family, were you reminded that you need to plan ahead for yourself, your family and your legacy ? Are you concerned that you have been procrastinating and have not created your Florida estate plan? Is it now at the top of your list of resolutions? How do you begin? What should go into your estate plan?

As Florida estate planning attorneys, we meet with clients and their loved ones to discuss just what is needed in their Florida estate plans to be sure that they are personally protected, in addition to their family, their business, and the legacy they want to leave behind.  Because of these meetings we have developed an estate planning checklist we would like to share with you. We recommend you not procrastinate any longer and use this checklist now to make sure that your estate plan reflects your goals for you and your family now and in the future.

  • Have you decided who should make your decisions if you are not able to make them for yourself?
  • When you create your health care decision-making documents be sure that they reflect who you want to make decisions for your healthcare if you suddenly became incapacitated. 
  • Make an appointment and check in with your Florida estate planning attorney to be sure you have selected the person you want to have legal authority to make decisions for you in a crisis set up properly.
  • Who could handle your business affairs if you could not?
  • What would happen to your pets if you were hospitalized?
  • Do you want your adult children in charge of your finances?
  • Do you need additional insurance policies? 
  • Will your retirement plans be able to support you as you age?
  • Do you have a taxable estate?
  • Has your accountant or investment advisor recommended you make any financial gifts?
  • Are you aware that a critical part of estate planning is retirement planning? Do you have goals for your retirement? Does your estate plan follow your goals for retirement? Do you need guidance on how to get where you want to go, not just financially, but with an eye on the legacy that you want to create?
  • We also recommend that in addition to your Florida estate plan, you not procrastinate and begin long-term care planning. What would happen if, in the future, you might need significant long-term care?  It is essential for you to consider your long-term care needs and how the financial drain on your resources could impact your estate-planning. 

Finally, it is important for you to think about your Florida estate plan jointly with your long-term care plan. As you look at your New Year’s resolution of not procrastinating and completing your Florida estate plan, take time now to schedule a meeting with your Florida estate planning attorney to discuss how potential long-term care complications could inhibit how you reach your estate planning goals.

Do not wait to contact our law practice to learn more today. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting. To learn more about Meloro Law and how we can help you when you need legal representation for estate planning or elder law issues do not wait to call us today.

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