Greetings!

 

Summertime is here, and with it the pace of work has slackened just a bit. We use the time to catch up on financial chores that are difficult to get to at other times of the year. To that end, we'll be confirming beneficiary information on all client accounts in the coming weeks, and we've also included an article on steps you can take to bring your estate plan up-to-date.

 

We're excited about a series of online seminars we'll be doing, the first of which is detailed in the article below. The seminars are focused on those in the early stages of their plan, and are particularly well suited for children of clients as well as close friends who are younger.

 

Lastly, in the vein of family financial planning, we've included a list of resources useful in helping teach kids about money and investing.

 

As always, your feedback on the newsletter or anything else is always welcome, and please feel free to forward this to anyone you know that might find it useful.

 

Sincerely,
Micah Porter, CFA

Estate planning is one of the critical elements of a comprehensive financial plan. Who inherits the assets, how the assets are to be used or disbursed, and how best to minimize taxes are all questions estate planning can address. Thus, considering these questions as part of a plan is critical, but as critical are a few small steps you can take to ensure that all documents impacted by your estate plan are up-to-date and are in alignment with your plan.

 

A few of the steps you can take are as follows:

 

Beneficiaries

Certain types of assets including retirement accounts and insurance policies typically allow beneficiaries to be named, and those beneficiaries inherit the asset should the account owner pre-decease them. From time-to-time it is necessary to change beneficiaries, most often due to death of a named beneficiary or divorce. In the coming months, we will confirm that beneficiaries are correct on all applicable accounts at TD Ameritrade and TIAA CREF, but don't forget to check beneficiaries on any other accounts, insurance policies, and employer retirement plans.

 

Documents

At a minimum, in our opinion an estate plan should include a will, a financial (or durable) power of attorney, and a medical power of attorney. The first two documents should be kept in a secure location, typically a safety deposit box, but you'll want to keep the medical power of attorney in a location that is accessible at any time. If you need treatment that only the person granted your medical power-of-attorney can authorize, you'll want that person to be able to present the power-of-attorney to the treating hospital at any time. Lastly, make sure that those acting as your executor and financial power of attorney are aware of the location and have access to the relevant documents.

 

If you would like Minerva to maintain copies of your most up-to-date documents, please feel free to mail them to us, and we will scan them and maintain digital copies on file.

 

Executor and Power-of-Attorney

As with named beneficiaries, it makes sense to review who you've chosen as your executor, as well as to whom you've granted powers-of-attorney to ensure that they are still willing and able to function in the capacity in question. Additionally, be sure that those you've chosen to serve in these roles are aware that you would like them to act in the chosen capacity. While it is certainly flattering to be chosen for a position of such trust, some may not feel comfortable with the responsibility it entails. If you have trouble finding someone to serve as power-of-attorney or executor and would like to discuss with us further, please feel free to contact us.

 

If you've got questions about any of the above, or if you'd like to get together to review your estate plan, let us know. While it isn't the most cheerful topic to contemplate, knowing that your affairs are in order does bring some peace-of-mind.