Modern Estate Planning – Durham, NC
Estate planning and estate laws have been around for hundreds of years. Although estate laws do get updated to keep up with changing times, most wills, powers of attorney, and other estate planning documents often use original Latin phrasing. These Latin phrases make it explicit about what you want in your estate plan, which is something a Durham estate planning attorney can help with.
Lots has changed in the time people have been creating estate plans, though. In this modern age, many accounts have online access and many people elect to autodraft their accounts for various services.
So how does this effect estate planning?
Think about the person you want to manage your affairs after you die. Is this person aware of your various accounts? Will they be able to access them when you are no longer around? This doesn’t just mean bank or retirement accounts, but credit card accounts and even Netflix accounts. You will want your administrator to be able to access these accounts, either to cancel them or take other measures that may need to be taken, such as transferring ownership or moving assets around. You should therefore make sure the executor can access them, usually by leaving a list of accounts they will need to know about as well as passwords or security questions.
Having access to online account management also makes it easier to make sure your accounts are in order. Certain kinds of accounts cannot be bequeathed in wills, like IRAs. With online account management, you can make sure you have named a beneficiary.
Many online accounts are moving towards routine password changes for security. Make sure to keep your list up to date, and to update your estate plan if major changes happen.
