It’s the perfect time of year to incorporate your estate planning into the bigger picture. Estate planning requires a team approach and communication with all relevant parties. If you’re also a business owner, you can’t complete the process of estate planning without incorporating business succession planning and asset protection planning. 

All of the key stakeholders and outside professionals who are connected to all of these decisions should be involved as to understand the process. If your estate planning papers are all old or if you’re not even sure where to find them, set aside time to schedule an in-person meeting with your lawyer. Starting all over with a new set of documents for whatever you need in this stage of life is recommended.

Estate planning involves critical decisions about financial, family tax, business, and legal decisions. It also helps to reduce the state taxes, secure your own financial future, determine what your retirement will look like, and influences your overall assets. The first step in accomplishing the estate planning process is to reach out for expert advice. If you already have a tax accountant you trust, they will likely know an attorney or a financial planner who can help you.

Tax time is also the perfect time to reevaluate your overall financial picture and to make decisions about how your estate planning and other future plans should be adjusted in the future.