Estate planning tips during your 40s

When you reach your 40s, your life begins to change in many ways. Your children are getting older, your career is in full swing, and you may be thinking about retirement.

During these 10 years, you also need to focus on your estate plan. Do you have an estate plan in place? Do you need to create one in the near future? Either way, you need to take steps that will give you peace of mind.

Here are some of the top estate planning tips to follow during your 40s:

— Review your will or trust. It doesn’t matter if you’re using a will or trust to pass your assets to your heirs, you need to review what you have in place to ensure that it’s exactly what you need.

— Focus on your insurance policies. An example of this would be reviewing all your life insurance coverage. Who is the beneficiary? Do you have enough coverage? Along with life insurance, it may be time to consider buying long term care insurance.

— Take a look at your retirement plan. A big part of estate planning is retirement planning. You need to know how much money you have, and of course, how much money you need in order to retire at your target date. You should also know what will happen to your retirement savings should you pass on.

If you already have an estate plan in place, you are ahead of the game. If you don’t have an estate plan, now is the time to get on the ball. Once your 40s come to an end, you’re not far off from retirement.

Since there are many questions to address and challenges that can stand in your way, don’t hesitate to consult with an estate planning attorney. With a professional on your side, you never have to worry about making mistakes that could cause you or your family trouble in the future.

Nobody wants to spend too much time on estate planning, but this is something that responsible adults need to tackle at some point. If you are in your 40s, don’t wait another day to review your estate plan or create one that will remove some stress from your life.