It is important that you update your estate plans and your plans for the future on a regular basis with help from a Vermont elder law attorney. An attorney can assist you with making financial plans to accomplish money goals, as well as with ensuring that you can provide for your loved ones after you are gone. The planning process should begin when you are young so you can build wealth and begin preparing your legacy. As you go through the course of your life, hit milestones, and make major life changes, your plans should change and evolve. 
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC can provide invaluable assistance with estate planning, retirement planning, incapacity planning, and asset protection. If you regularly make sure you are prepared for the future and making effective use of legal tools under Vermont law, you will benefit greatly from having security and peace of mind.
Our attorneys can help to make that happen. Give us a call today to talk with a Vermont elder law attorney about making or revising your plans.
How Often to Update Your Plans with Help from a Vermont Elder Law Attorney
Fidelity has some advice on situations where you may wish to review or update your estate plan. Updating your plans should be done when big things happen to you. Some of the different times when Fidelity suggests you should update your plan include when a new grandchild is born or adopted; if one of your children or grandchildren becomes an adult; or if one of your children or your grandchildren experiences a change in their need for educational funding.
If you have underage children, it is especially important to keep your estate plan updated so you can make sure you have named the right person to be their guardian, provided appropriate financial support, and made certain that the money left for your children will be managed carefully. As your kids get older, your instructions for how they can receive an inheritance will vary. Some parents want kids to receive access to a trust fund only if certain criteria are met, such as graduating from college. For parents of special needs children, there are also additional considerations including making sure money is appropriately managed and does not cause a loss of access to government benefits.
Changes in the number of dependents in your care (including adult dependents) and marriage or divorce are also things which should prompt you to alter your plans, just as you should make changes upon the illness or disability of your spouse, a change in your insurance coverage and a change in your asset and debt levels.
A Vermont elder law attorney also does more than just help you to prepare a legacy and make sure you are leaving money and property to family in appropriate ways. An attorney can also help you to take advantage of accounts like IRAs that can help you to save; can assist you in asset protection efforts; can provide you with guidance on nursing home planning; and can help with incapacity planning issues like making sure your assets are managed and that you do not receive unwanted medical care. The specific steps your lawyer will help you to take are designed to fulfill your goals and protect you, your wealth, and your loved ones.
Why is Regularly Updating Your Plan so Important?
Keeping your plan updated at all times is essential so that it is an accurate reflection of your current wishes, goals, and family situation. If you have had major life changes which haven’t been addressed by updating your plan, you could be in a situation where the tools you have in place will not result in your desired outcomes. You don’t want the wrong people inheriting or the wrong decisions made on your medical care and asset management simply because you have not regularly updated your estate plan.
How a Vermont Elder Law Attorney Can Help
A Vermont elder law attorney can provide you with invaluable assistance in making and updating your plans for the future. Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC can assist you in every step, from getting started with your original plans to making tweaks and modifications as your life and goals change.
To find out more about the services which can elder law attorney can offer to help you, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at (802) 879-7133 or contact us online to speak with an attorney and get advice on all aspects of elder law.
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