Got assets? Don’t wait to start an estate plan

An estate plan is an umbrella term for a collection of documents that specify how you’d like your personal and financial affairs handled in case of incapacitation or death.

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Under that umbrella, estate plans will look different from person to person, but professionals in the field stress there are commonalities they all should share, such as careful attention to detail and regular updates.

“Most basic estate plans contain a will, a power of attorney, and a health care proxy, but you can expand beyond those three documents,” said Veronica Van Nest, JD, a senior wealth management consultant for Manning & Napier’s Advisory Services Group and a vice president and trust officer of Exeter Trust Company, a New Hampshire Chartered Trust Company that is an affiliate of Manning & Napier.

Van Nest says that if you’re an adult and have assets it’s never too soon to begin an estate plan and that it should be updated whenever major life events happen. Often, the discussion of estate planning, she says begins with one’s financial advisors.

“We look at what types of assets they have, what they want to do and maybe provide them some advice before they go see an attorney,” Van Nest said. “We don’t draft documents, but we can connect clients with attorneys that we work with and that we know draft good documents because that’s very key.”

One of the topics Van Nest encourages clients to keep in mind when it comes to estate planning is to give thought to who their fiduciaries will be and to have conversations with those people.

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“One of the other things I really focus on with clients are beneficiary designations,” Van Nest said. “Those assets – like insurance policies and retirement accounts – don’t pass as part of your will, so the client needs to understand what’s going to pass under their will and what’s going to pass under some other legal document. You usually want those two types of documents to meet.”

Imparting that knowledge that beneficiary designation supersedes the will is a crucial component of estate planning, as is being present for clients as they face topics that may be uncomfortable for them to talk about.

“Estate planning is very personal, and some people put it off because it is so personal,” said Van Nest who values the intimate information her clients share with her and gets great satisfaction from being one of the professionals who helps them through the estate planning process.

Jillian Dart, Esq., CTFA, AEP is a senior vice president and senior trust officer at Canandaigua National Bank & Trust. She enjoys the relationship piece of estate planning – including working with families across generations – as well as educating clients about estate planning and dispelling misconceptions.

“People sometimes think of an estate plan as a giant, elaborate thing,” said Dart, noting that misconception can scare some people away from the process. “An estate plan doesn’t have to be super sophisticated. It can be a will, power of attorney, health care proxy and living will; simple is OK.”

Once someone starts working and starts gathering assets it’s a suitable time to start an estate plan. Then, she recommends reviewing your estate plan every couple of years and changing the plan as personal circumstances and external factors change.

Getting married or getting divorced are two of the important times to review and change your estate plan, Dart says, as can be following major tax policy changes.

Dart loves the opportunity to review drafts of estate planning documents but cautions that documents are only as perfect as the time they were written. She also encourages her clients to be as open as possible with their families about their estate plans.

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“Have conservations and set expectations of what’s going to happen,” Dart said. “Families we have seen have open communication and an understanding of what’s going to happen down the pike often have a much smoother experience.

Melissa Talarico is a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor® (CRPC®) and financial advisor at Brighton Securities. She says the best time to think about an estate plan is when you have assets that you want to pass on and pass on in such a way that goes by your wishes.

“By having that estate document or the will/trust document in place, it’s your way to clearly identify your wishes and it makes it easier to execute those wishes with less effort and expense when you have it written down and you’ve thought through the process with an attorney and a specialist in the area,” she said.

Talarico explains that a financial advisor can help clients with the estate planning process by being the quarterback, so to speak.

“If and when they need to have an estate put into place through either a will and/or a trust, we help them to work through that process with an attorney,” Talarico said. “We can help them to make sure that all of their financial documents and accounts are put together in such a way that work together with that estate document.”

Talarico recommends reviewing your estate plan whenever there’s a material change in either your wishes or your assets.

“It’s also a good idea to take a look at your estate plan every five years,” she said. “It’s not a hard and fast rule, but it’s a good rule of thumb.”

Caurie Putnam is a Rochester-area freelance writer.

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