Here are some more questions to think about with your estate strategy:
Have you filed beneficiary forms? Sometimes, naming a beneficiary for
bank accounts and retirement plans makes these accounts “payable on
death” to your beneficiaries.
Life insurance can play a role in your estate strategy. When was the
last time you assessed your life insurance coverage? Have you compared
the life insurance benefit with your financial obligations? Remember that
several factors will affect the cost and availability of life insurance,
including age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased.
Life insurance policies have expenses, including mortality and other
charges. If a policy is surrendered prematurely, the policyholder may also
pay surrender charges and have income tax implications. You should
consider determining whether you are insurable before implementing a
strategy involving life insurance. Any guarantees associated with a policy
are dependent on the ability of the issuing insurance company to continue
making claim payments.
Have you taken steps to manage your federal estate tax? If you and
your spouse have more than $27.98 million in assets (for 2025), you may
want to consider taking steps to manage federal estate taxes, which will be
due at the second spouse’s death.1
There is no better time to start setting up your estate strategy. If you don’t
have someone in mind to begin this process, I can help you find one.
1. IRS.gov, 2025