Estate planning is not a one-time task—especially for parents. As your family grows and changes, you need to revise your estate plan to reflect new priorities. Whether you are welcoming a new baby, guiding teenagers, supporting adult children, or thinking about your legacy and charitable impact, an updated plan provides your family with protection, clarity, and peace of mind.
Laying the foundation of your family’s estate plan
When you become a parent, you focus on protecting your children. Early estate planning ensures their security in the event of the unexpected.
- Name guardians. Use your will to designate who will care for your children if both parents cannot.
- Create testamentary trusts or custodial accounts. These options help manage assets for minor children until they reach adulthood.
- Update beneficiary designations. Review your life insurance, retirement accounts, and other assets to ensure they match your intentions.
- Plan for incapacity. Establish financial and healthcare powers of attorney so a trusted individual can make decisions on your behalf if needed.
Family estate planning that grows with you
As your children and finances grow, your estate plan should become a long-term strategy.
- Update testamentary trusts. Create or revise trusts so they distribute assets responsibly, using age milestones or other conditions.
- Plan for inheritance. Discuss inheritance goals with children and define when and how they will receive assets.
- Prepare for education and significant milestones. Consider establishing 529 plans or dedicated funds to support future educational or life goals.
- Adapt to life changes. New financial responsibilities, lifestyle changes, and shifting needs require regular updates. For example, with remarriage or a blended family, you may want to revise your plan to add your spouse to a marital trust and your children as beneficiaries of specific inheritances.
Children Entering Adulthood
When your children turn 18, you begin to update your estate plan to reflect their new roles in family decision-making.
- Update your own decision-making documents. Review your healthcare directive, power of attorney, and HIPAA release, and add your adult child as a backup or secondary decision-maker if appropriate.
- Adjust beneficiary designations and trusts. Replace custodial accounts with adult-owned accounts or transfer assets into a trust with clear distribution terms. Decide whether your child should receive inheritances outright or in protected, staggered distributions.
- Remove outdated guardianship provisions. Take out guardianship clauses that applied when your child was a minor. If your child has ongoing support needs, replace those sections with instructions for managing care through a trust or a designated guardian for a dependent adult.
Establishing your legacy
As you grow older and your finances stabilize, focus on creating a legacy that supports your values and your family’s future. Thoughtful planning helps minimize taxes, provide for descendants, and make a lasting impact.
- Use charitable giving to benefit your family and key causes. Set up donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, or make lifetime gifts to organizations you support. By strategically giving, you can reduce estate taxes and preserve more wealth for your children while modeling the importance of philanthropy.
- Give gifts during your lifetime to help your children. Gradually transfer assets through gifts to reduce your taxable estate, provide your children immediate benefit, and simplify inheritance.
- Plan for grandchildren and future generations. Use 529 plans, generation-skipping trusts, or other tools to provide educational support and protect assets. These strategies benefit your descendants and reduce future complications.
Your estate and trust during retirement
As you approach retirement, your estate plan should reflect not only your own goals but also your adult children’s needs and roles. Planning now can reduce burdens on your family and ensure your wishes are clear.
- Choose personal representatives or trustees with care. Decide whether to name an adult child, other extended family members, or another trusted individual.
- Document long-term care preferences. Update your healthcare directives, powers of attorney, and long-term care plans. Include clear instructions about who can make decisions if you cannot, so your adult children understand their role and can act confidently.
- Simplify and consolidate your assets. Review your will, trusts, and beneficiary designations to ensure they match your current intentions for adult children. Decide on inheritance methods and consider tax implications.
Prioritize your family’s estate planning today
Estate planning should evolve as your family changes. Working with a trusted estate attorney helps keep your plan current, protects loved ones, and supports long-term goals.
Andrew Kremer Law offers estate legal services as part of their affiliation with Boulay.