National Estate Planning Awareness Week, Oct. 19-25, is an opportunity to consider how thoughtful planning today can protect the people you love, preserve what you’ve built, and provide a clear path for what comes next
By Randall G. Hesser
Partner, Warrick & Boyn, LLP
Every new beginning comes with decisions.
Children grow up and begin families of their own. Retirement opens a new chapter after a career. A business built over decades may pass to the next generation. A family home or other property may someday have a new owner and a new purpose.
We spend much of our lives preparing for these transitions. Estate planning helps us approach them thoughtfully.
October 19–25 is National Estate Planning Awareness Week, a reminder to consider whether you have a plan in place—and, just as importantly, whether the plan you already have still reflects your life, your family, and your wishes today.
More Than a Will
When people hear “estate planning,” they often think immediately of a will. A will is certainly an important part of many estate plans, but thoughtful estate planning can encompass much more.
Depending on your circumstances, planning may include wills and trusts, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations, decisions involving real estate and other assets, tax considerations, and plans for the future ownership of a family or closely held business.
In other words, estate planning isn’t simply a matter of deciding who gets what.
It provides direction. Who do you trust to make important decisions on your behalf if you cannot? How should the assets you’ve accumulated be handled? Who should assume responsibility for a business you’ve spent years building? How can you ease future transitions for the people who matter most to you?
Answering those questions today can provide greater clarity for tomorrow.
You Don’t Need to Be Wealthy to Have an Estate
One common misconception is that estate planning is something reserved for wealthy families.
In reality, your estate is simply what you have accumulated throughout your life. Your home. Savings and investments. Personal property. Retirement accounts. A business interest. Perhaps a vacation property or family cottage.
But many important estate-planning decisions aren’t based on the size of your estate.
Parents of minor children may need to consider who they would want to care for their children if they could not. Adults at virtually any stage of life should consider who would be authorized to handle financial or legal matters on their behalf if circumstances made them unable to do so themselves.
Those are questions of responsibility, preparation, and making your wishes clear.
Life Changes. Your Estate Plan Should, Too.
Creating an estate plan isn’t something you do once and place in a drawer for the next 30 years.
Families change. Children and grandchildren are born. Marriages begin, and sometimes end. People buy and sell property. Businesses grow. Careers change. Retirement arrives. The people you once named to serve important roles in your estate plan may no longer be the people you would choose today.
That’s why an existing estate plan deserves regular review, too.
If it has been years since you looked at yours, ask yourself a simple question:
Does this plan still reflect my life today—and where I want the things I’ve worked for to go from here?
If you’re not sure, it is time to review your plan.
A Plan Provides a Path Forward
After more than four decades practicing law, I’ve seen the difference thoughtful planning can make for individuals and families.
Major transitions can bring questions at precisely the time families are least prepared to answer them. Who has the authority to make a decision? What were Mom or Dad’s wishes? What happens to the family business? How should property be handled? Who is responsible for what comes next?
A well-prepared estate plan can answer many of those questions in advance.
It allows you to make decisions carefully, communicate your wishes, and give the people you trust a clearer path forward. For business owners, it can also be an important part of succession planning, helping establish how ownership and responsibilities will transition and how the enterprise you’ve built can continue.
Planning doesn’t eliminate every difficult decision or unexpected circumstance. But it can replace uncertainty with direction.
Make October the Month You Start the Conversation
For over 100 years, Warrick & Boyn has provided estate planning counsel to individuals, families, and business owners throughout Michiana. We help clients analyze their assets, prepare wills and trusts, consider estate and tax issues, plan for continuity in closely held businesses, and navigate estate administration.
Every client’s circumstances are different, which means there is no single estate plan that works for everyone. But there is one thing nearly everyone can benefit from: having a plan rather than leaving important decisions to chance.
Throughout our lives, endings and beginnings are often connected. One generation passes responsibilities to the next. Businesses gain new leadership. Property finds a new caretaker. What we build becomes part of someone else’s future.
At Warrick & Boyn, we are always happy to guide clients through the estate planning process. National Estate Planning Awareness Week is a timely reminder that a thoughtful estate plan provides a clear, concise blueprint, allowing your legacy to become a new beginning and a source of future success and security for your loved ones.
If you have estate planning questions or need legal assistance, contact me today at [email protected] or call our office at (574) 294-7491. to speak with a member of the Warrick & Boyn team. We are here for you!