Planning for a Wedding? Make Sure to Update (or Create) Your leafplan
Why leafplanner is so critical during major life events
Among the flurry of planning and activities involved with most weddings, one of the most important—but often neglected—to-dos is to account for your new family member in your estate plan and other financial planning. A marriage represents a meaningful change for a family, particularly a family of significant wealth, and it is essential to include that change in all of your critical planning.
As a highly integrated, digital family owner's manual, leafplanner is the perfect tool to capture the details of your newly expanded family. From updated trusts and beneficiary designations to pre-nuptial agreements, leafplanner can capture it all—even those new last names on drivers licenses, passports, and the new family pet (don't forget to add them to your leafplan too!)
By updating or creating a leafplan, extended family members and your advisors are instantly provided with an up-to-date, single source of information that serves as an indispensable guide to the family’s intertwined planning, holdings, and relationships.
Whether you are an existing leafplanner user or considering adopting the tool, below are 14 recommendations for how a comprehensive leafplan can provide you and the newlyweds in your family with peace of mind as they build their lives together:
Tax, Estate & Trust:
Wills and Trusts
If you are updating any wills and trusts to include your new family member, leafplanner can house those updated documents so that others in the family and trusted advisors have access to that information.
Power of Attorney and Healthcare Directives
Once a couple is married, consider updating documents such as powers of attorney for any financial and healthcare decisions. Take a similar approach for living wills and healthcare proxies. And, yes, leafplanner can document all of these changes.
Estate Tax Planning
When wedding bells are ringing, now is the time to reassess your estate tax strategies, including the use of the marital deduction and gift tax exclusions. Yup, keep it all in leafplanner.
Guardianship for Minor Children
If there are minor children involved, update guardianship designations. Also, begin to plan for future inheritance considerations involving children from previous marriages or new heirs. Document your planning in leafplanner.
Charitable Giving
Review and update any charitable giving plans or philanthropic foundations to include the new spouse's preferences and involvement. Track and document these activities within leafplanner for tax and estate planning purposes.
Miscellaneous/Legal
Prenuptial or Postnuptial Agreements
A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can help define and provide clarity around the financial relationship with your new family member. Be sure to include that in your leafplan.
Assets
Joint Property Ownership
Decide what, if any, properties or assets should be owned jointly with your new family member and update titles and deeds accordingly. Once again, leafplanner can capture these important updates.
Beneficiary Designations
As you update the beneficiaries on life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and other financial accounts to include your new family member, a leafplan should reflect those changes.
Digital Assets
Update access to digital assets and online accounts, ensuring the new spouse has the necessary permissions, and vice versa. This can be one of the most neglected aspects of managing a family’s financial affairs, but critical during times of family succession. Make leafplanner your go-to place to store this information.
Business Succession Planning
If you or your new family member owns a business, be sure to update the succession plan for the business to reflect any involvement from your new family member or others in the family.
Insurance
Insurance Policies
Take the time to adjust any life insurance coverage to reflect the new member of your family. Consider purchasing additional insurance policies to protect the newlyweds’ financial future. Your leafplan is a safe and secure place to keep those updated policies.
Liabilities
Debts and Liabilities
Assess any existing debts and liabilities to ensure all parties have visibility into the overall financial health of the family. This is incredibly important to get off on the right foot as a family. Utilize leafplanner to make this as transparent as possible.
First Things First
Professional Advisors
Allow any new financial advisors, estate planners, attorneys and other key advisors to access and update relevant information within leafplanner, ensuring a comprehensive, cohesive approach to planning.
Sphere of Responsibility
New Family Member Onboarding
Finally, adding the new family member/spouse to the Sphere of Responsibility module in leafplanner is a great way to empower them to learn more about the family. Use leafplanner to educate your new family member on the ins and outs of the family enterprise and estate. In doing so, determine what information and modules the new family member needs access to and walk them through the platform’s features and how your family uses it.
As you can see, leafplanner provides a comprehensive, highly organized, and secure platform that newlyweds and their extended family can depend on to manage the complexities of merging their lives and assets together, helping to ensure a “happily ever after '' for everyone involved. The leafplanner Concierge Team is standing by to provide the expertise and knowledge to streamline your planning process, navigate any challenges, and give you more time to focus on what truly matters: creating lasting memories with your loved ones.
Contact us to learn more about how leafplanner can benefit your growing family.
