Empowering Your Future: Estate Planning Strategies for Women

As a financial advisor and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, I’ve had the opportunity to work with many women as they navigate the complexities of estate planning. And I understand it can feel like an intimidating and daunting task, especially with all the legal jargon and paperwork involved. But the reality is that estate planning is an essential step in securing your financial future, ensuring your wishes are honored and providing peace of mind for you and your loved ones. So let’s dive into a few key strategies that can help you wrap your mind around the estate planning process and how you can feel more confident about it.

Why Estate Planning Is Important for Women

Estate planning is the process of organizing and arranging your financial affairs and personal wishes for after your passing, or in the event that you’re unable to make decisions for yourself. It’s not just for the wealthy or those with significant assets—estate planning is for anyone who wants to have a say in how their affairs are handled. Whether you’re single, married, divorced, or widowed, having a comprehensive estate plan in place allows you to make decisions that reflect your goals, values, and the legacy you wish to leave behind. It also helps protect your loved ones from the challenges of navigating your financial affairs without clear guidance.

Key Estate Planning Strategies for Women

1. Review and Update Your Will Regularly: Your will is the foundation of your estate plan and it should reflect your current life circumstances.

For example, if you’ve recently divorced or had children, you’ll want to update your will to ensure it aligns with your current wishes.

It’s also wise to review your will every few years, even if your circumstances haven’t changed, to ensure it remains relevant.

2. Establish or Update a Trust: Trusts can be a powerful tool for managing and protecting your assets.

A revocable living trust, for instance, allows you to maintain control over your assets during your lifetime and ensures a smooth transition of those assets upon your passing.

For those with more specific needs, such as ensuring a child’s inheritance is managed responsibly, a spendthrift trust can provide added protection by controlling how and when funds are distributed.

3. Consider Long-Term Care Planning: With health care costs on the rise, it’s crucial to incorporate long-term care planning into your estate plan. While long-term care insurance is a common solution, there are other strategies to consider as well.

For example, setting up an irrevocable Medicaid trust can help protect your assets from being spent down to qualify for Medicaid, while still allowing you to receive care. This is a more complex strategy that requires the guidance of an estate planning attorney.

4. Plan for Incapacity with Powers of Attorney: It’s essential to have powers of attorney in place for both financial and health care decisions. A durable power of attorney for finances allows someone you trust to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated, while a health care power of attorney ensures your medical wishes are carried out. It’s also worth discussing with your estate attorney the potential benefits of a living will or advance health care directive to provide specific instructions about your care.

5. Incorporate Charitable Giving: If philanthropy is important to you, consider incorporating charitable donations into your estate plan. A charitable remainder trust (CRT) is an option that allows you to receive income during your lifetime, with the remaining assets going to charity after your passing. This can provide tax benefits while supporting causes you care about.

Another option is a donor-advised fund, which allows you to make charitable contributions during your lifetime and leave a legacy of giving.

6. Protect Your Digital Legacy: In today’s digital age, it’s important to plan for what happens to your online presence after you’re gone. Consider creating a digital estate plan, which includes instructions for accessing and managing your digital assets, such as social media accounts, email accounts, and digital photos. You might want to designate a digital executor to handle these matters, as not all traditional executors are familiar with managing digital assets.

7. Communicate with Your Family: Estate planning isn’t just about legal documents; it’s also about communication. Discussing your plans with your family can prevent misunderstandings and reduce the likelihood of conflicts after you’re gone. It’s especially important to communicate your wishes regarding your health care decisions and how you want your assets to be distributed. This can be a difficult conversation, but it’s an important step in ensuring your wishes are respected.

Lesser-Known Considerations

• Updating Beneficiary Designations: Many people overlook the importance of updating beneficiary designations on accounts like life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death accounts. These designations often override what’s written in your will, so it’s crucial to keep them up to date, especially after major life events like marriage, divorce, or the birth of a child.

• Reviewing State-Specific Laws: Estate planning laws vary from state to state, so it’s important to review your estate plan with an attorney who is familiar with the laws in your state. For example, some states have community property laws that could affect how your assets are distributed if you’re married, while others have specific inheritance laws that apply if you don’t have a will.

The Benefits of Planning Ahead

Taking the time to create or update your estate plan now can save your loved ones from the stress and confusion of trying to navigate your financial affairs without clear guidance. It also allows you to take control of your legacy, ensuring that your assets are distributed in a way that reflects your values and priorities.

As a financial advisor and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, I see and touch many of these items through the course of my clients’ lives. While I’m not an estate attorney, I work closely with estate planning professionals and can help weigh in on these matters as part of a comprehensive financial plan. It’s important to work with both your financial advisor and an estate attorney to ensure all aspects of your plan are covered.

Final Thoughts

Estate planning is not a one-time event—it’s an ongoing process that should evolve as your life changes. Whether you’re adjusting to a new phase of life, dealing with the loss of a spouse or simply re-evaluating your financial goals, now is the time to take action.

If you need assistance in reviewing or adjusting your estate or financial plan, I recommend you seek advice from a professional. If you don’t have one or would like a second opinion, I would be more than happy to help. Together, we can create a plan that empowers you and helps you feel confident in the knowledge that your there is a plan for your future.

Please Note: Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax or legal advice. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.

The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete, it is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision, and it does not constitute a recommendation. Any opinions are those of Lauren Smith and not necessarily those of Raymond James.