Tax Season: The Perfect Time for Estate Planning

Tax season is a dreaded time of year for many people because it means sorting and organizing documents and filling out paperwork. It can also be time-consuming and complicated, making it overwhelming and hard to begin.

This is the very reason that many people don’t begin the estate planning process and/or don’t review their estate panning documents regularly. The entire process can seem overwhelming; and they just don’t know where to start. However, if you begin the estate planning process during tax season, you are already halfway there! You are in the process of reviewing your specific asset information, as well as your general financial situation. It would be a shame to do all that work and not take one more step and apply this information and hard work toward an estate plan.

While you have everything out and organized, it’s a perfect time to think about estate planning and taking control over your financial situation, as all of this same information is exactly what an estate planning attorney needs when creating or reviewing an existing estate plan with you.

At this point, estate planning simply turns into a conversation with a few key decisions. Estate planning CAN be complex, but it certainly doesn’t need to be that way. It’s totally up to you, based on your goals and unique situation. In most cases, the process is fairly straightforward and clear.

Tax season is similar to any other annual “check-up”. You can think of it as your financial examination. The same concept applies to estate planning. A lot can change in a year, and any one of these changes may impact your current estate plan. It’s a good idea to get in the habit of regular estate plan reviews, just like any routine “check-up”. Estate planning isn’t a one-time “set- it -and- forget- it” plan. As you walk through life, it isn’t only your assets, circumstances and personal situations that change, but laws and estate planning strategies change as well. It is important to review everything to make sure that everything still makes sense and there isn’t anything that you could be doing differently.

The estate plan in your 30s doesn’t look the same as the estate plan in your 50s, 60s or 70s. The basic Powers of Attorney that you needed in your early 20s look very different than the plan that makes more sense when you get married, have children, special needs beneficiaries, a blended family, or other complexities. 

Further, as you prepare for tax season, it sometimes gives you a new perspective on your financial situation. This also may be a good time to start considering different tax or gifting strategies with estate planning, in order to better prepare for next year’s tax season.

We always recommend estate plan reviews every few years; and it only makes sense to do this while you’re gathering your asset information and already in that mindset. What a better time than tax season? 

Our firm is here to help. Each of our estate planning attorneys meet with multiple clients every single day, so there isn’t anything that we haven’t seen before. Rest assured that we are adept at making this a seamless process for you and your loved ones.