Melbourne, Florida, Trust, Estate Planning And Probate Law Blog

It is hard to imagine a life before a person in Florida could update their social media only for it to be read moments later by a person on the other side of the world. Technology has certainly changed the world and the way much of society functions, but are institutions equipped to handle these changes? When it comes to estate planning, some important updates might be in order to ensure that digital assets are thoroughly protected.

Digital assets can be extremely hard to track down. Things like login information for social media, passwords to cloud storage, usernames and passwords for digital currency and so much more are not always made available to family members upon a person's death. This leaves many them unable to access things like stored pictures and valuable assets.

An estate plan is a smart way for any Florida reader to protect his or her assets and ensure that loved ones have the protection they need in the future. While a person may have a will and other estate planning measures in place, that may not be enough. In order to have the full amount of protection, a person would be wise to update his or her estate plan after major life events, such as a divorce.

A divorce is a life-altering event, and it should also lead to changes in a person's estate plan. Failure to update a will and other estate planning documents as needed could lead to complications in the future. It is smart to ensure that an ex-spouse is not mentioned in the will and other estate planning documents, such as a medical power of attorney. It is also prudent to review other things such as life insurance policies and more.

Preparing an estate plan is the best way to ensure that a person's final wishes are respected and upheld. However, beyond ensuring that heirs receive their correct inheritance, is there anything more that Florida baby boomers can do to make sure that their children and grandchildren are taken care of? Some experts believe that parents might need to give their millennial children a push in the right direction when it comes to estate planning.

A 2018 study from the U.S. Trust Insights on Wealth and Worth found that 67 percent of people aged 50 or older want to invest in their kids and grandkids. However, while many people in this generation have done a great job of estate planning, the same cannot necessarily be said for their kids. When questioned by their parents, most millennials and Gen Xers report that they do not have any type of estate plan.

Creating an estate plan is an important part of becoming an adult. However, simply drawing up a will and choosing someone to act as a health care proxy does not mean that a person's job is done. Regularly updating documents is an important part of estate planning that many people in Florida tend to overlook. Here are a few situations that indicate a person should consider updating his or her plan.

For those who created their estate plan while living in another state, an update is in order. Laws that govern estate planning are typically not covered at the federal level, so anything someone drafted while living in another state may no longer be relevant. Individuals who recently moved to Florida should make sure to update their wills, trusts, living wills and health care powers of attorney, or take the risk that these documents may be ineffective in this state.