SUDOKU
Crisis Averted!
How We Saved a Client’s
28-Year-Old Estate Plan
How much has changed in your life in the last 30 years? You are likely a completely different person now than you were back then. Along the way, you may have been married or divorced, had kids or grandkids, lost your parents, or made new friends. As your life changed, hopefully your estate plan changed with it. After all, you would not want to leave your legacy to your former spouse or a sibling who has passed away, would you? Recently, attorney Brian Eagle helped one of our clients avert such a crisis. As you read in our cover article, Brian was surprised a few weeks ago by a call from a client who had not checked in with us since 1992! Just like in the scenario we painted above, their estate plan had sat idle for nearly 30 years as their life changed dramatically. After a bit of digging, Brian discovered that the client had gotten remarried in the intervening years. We are sure you can imagine what a disaster it would have been if they had passed away without updating their plan! Stories like these are why we do not believe in “set it and forget it” estate planning. We like to say that estate planning is a continuing process, not a one-time event. We want to make sure that when those plans are needed, they are up to date, accurate, and reflective of the client’s wishes. In order to make that possible, if you are not already meeting with us annually, we encourage clients like you to check in with us after each major life event, upon receiving a legislative alert from us, or at the very least once every five years to review your circumstances and make appropriate updates. COVID-19 certainly falls in the “major life event” category, so if you are not visiting with us annually, there is no better time to give your plan a checkup than right now. When you update your estate plan, one of the most important things you can do is double-check the designated beneficiaries on your life insurance policies, retirement plans, and other assets. These people will play a significant role when you pass away, and as Brian’s client almost found out the hard way, choosing the wrong beneficiary can be a dramatic mistake.
Join Our Quest to End Alzheimer’s!
For the third consecutive year, our team will participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Indianapolis. The Walk’s goal is to raise awareness and funds for the Alzheimer’s Association’s fight against Alzheimer’s disease. During the Walk, there is a Flower Garden Ceremony in which every participant raises a flower that color-coordinates with their connection to the fight. Purple flowers, for example, are for those who have lost someone, orange flowers are for supporters, blue flowers are for those living with the diagnosis, and yellow are their caregivers. Every Walk has one white flower raised during the ceremony which represents the first survivor. Join us in the quest to raise the white flower. Every dollar counts in this fight. Over the last two years, we have raised nearly $28,000. You can help! To join our team or donate, visit Act.alz.org/goto/Eagle_and_Fein.
To help you navigate the minefield, call us today at 317-726-1714 to schedule a review meeting.
Together, we can end Alzheimer’s.
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317-726-1714
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