Life Triggers and Their Role in Estate Planning

Life Triggers and Their Role in Estate Planning

On Thursday, November 26^th Jennifer Watson of Watson Investments and Peter Welsh of Smartwills.ca  joined forces to discuss the Life Triggers and their role in Estate Planning.  For many individuals, this can include: starting a new business venture,  the addition of a child or grandchild, loss of a family member, a marriage, divorce or separation, sometimes even challenges like bankruptcy.  Many of these situations can cause an existing Will to be voided and there is a need to revisit your Estate plans for an update and refresh.

Jennifer and Peter discussed how many of our Estate plans require a team approach.  Your accountant, insurance advisor, financial planner and lawyer are all critical to a well-made plan.  Each individual on your Estate team plays a role in finding you a solution that can be tax-effective and help in leaving your family members with the resources needed to carry on.

To enjoy the spirited discussion, we have included a link to the recorded program.

One other large impact we experienced this year was an even greater shift to online payment of bills and purchases, as many retailers shifted to online with so many business closures.  This had us looking at the subject of passwords.  We seem to need one for everything and the need to remember, replace and update can be a bit crazy-making.

This has led us to personally purchase a password tool keeper (there are paid and free versions) but also brought up the discussion on how important it is to keep an organized file on all our accounts and passwords.  In the case of illness or someone passing the need to know where this information is will be critical.

Some common information needs may include social media accounts and passwords, login and passwords for all utilities, names of key doctors, family members, financial accounts, names of an accountant, insurance advisor, financial planner, lawyer and where your original Will and Power of Attorney for Property and Personal Care are stored.

For those of us that have noticed social media accounts that are still live after a person has passed,  you can reach out to social media accounts like Facebook to have the account removed. Most often this requires the effort of the Executor, along with proof that the person has passed.

How do I request the removal of a deceased family … – Facebook

www.facebook.com › help

One more item to remember but critical to your family’s ability to carry on.

Read more about a Financial Planner’s Perspective on Estate Planning