A successful retirement requires careful planning. People typically need to begin saving for retirement years before the time comes. They may also need to make arrangements to protect themselves as their health and finances shift during their golden years.
The months leading up to retirement are an ideal time to establish or revise an estate plan. What estate planning considerations may people preparing for retirement need to address?
Long-term care needs
One of the most pressing issues for those on the cusp of retirement is the possibility that their health could shift over time. Age-related medical decline, dementia and other health challenges may leave people reliant on professional caregivers during their golden years.
Covering those costs requires careful advance planning. Estate planning documents, including trust documents, can help people ensure they can afford long-term care.
The risk of incapacity
As people age, their medical situation is likely to change significantly. Alzheimer’s disease and similar medical conditions can leave people incapable of managing their own affairs. Older adults sometimes become permanently incapacitated because of specific maladies or generalized cognitive decline.
In either scenario, they may need someone to act on their behalf. Elder adults can expand their estate plans to add durable powers of attorney. Those documents can protect older adults from professional caregivers or family members with questionable motives seeking guardianship over them.
Changes to assets and the family
Older adults who are almost to retirement age may have seen their family circumstances and finances shift dramatically. Even if they have a will or other estate planning documents in place, the instructions they created years ago may now be relatively outdated.
People may need to revise their documents to accurately reflect their resources. They may need to add or remove beneficiaries. They may even need to reconsider who they appoint to positions of authority, such as the personal representative named to administer their estate. They may want to implement strategies to keep some of their assets out of probate court.
Retiring gracefully is easier when adults have created or recently revised their estate plans. The right documents can help protect people as they age and become more dependent on others. Adults preparing to retire may need to draft an estate plan or make significant revisions to their existing documents.