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The estate plan is a major tool to protect your family. Okay, you now have an estate plan. What's the biggest mistake you can make? Not updating the plan as the years go by and life changes occur, according to the Times Herald in “Top six estate planning mistakes.”   

It is your future and your money. Learn everything you can about the program. Social Security is an entitlement, and you have worked long and hard for it. It would be best to take the time to investigate what you will receive and when it would be best to take it, according to the AARP Bulletin...

An estate planning resolution can be beneficial to everyone. There are many possible New Year's resolutions. However, a good one to consider may well be creating an estate plan or taking a fresh look at your current plan, according to the Grand Rapids Business Journal ...

You can eliminate stress and expense and save your loved ones a lot of trouble. If you don't make some decisions about what you would like to happen with your assets when you are gone, it is likely that your heirs will be facing some pretty difficult challenges.

What measures would you like carried out if health issues arise and you can't speak for yourself? A very important conversation to have with your loved ones is what you would like for care should a health crisis arise. While it most likely will not be your favorite conversation, it is importan...

Open and honest communication can be the key to a good estate plan. Most married couples have a small age difference.  However, for those who don't, it is possible that there can be complications, according to the Reno Gazette Journal...

The new tax laws offer some opportunities. Have you taken the laws into consideration? With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in place, the end of the year is a good time to review your estate plan and see what you are missing or what opportunities may be available, according to The National Law Journal...

So, which trusts will work for you? There are many ways to use various trusts within an estate plan and it most likely will be beneficial to learn which ones will help achieve your goals, according to The Daily Sentinel in “Are you prepared for threats to your estate?”

If the topic of medical directives has not come up within the family and there has been no discussion, then do it now. Medical directives and other estate planning documents need to be kept up to date as the years pass by, according to the Watertown Public Opinion...

If you are fortunate enough to have an employer match, the end results are even better. The IRS has raised the contribution limit for a 401(k) plan by $500 next year and it can make a difference over the years in your retirement fund, according to The New York Times...

Everyone dies but what documents do you need in your lifetime? When it comes to estate planning, people often focus on what is needed when you pass away. However, there are some key documents you don't want to go without in your lifetime, according to nwi.com...

Thinking of traveling after years of work? Plan for it and save for it. When it comes to planning for your retirement, consider the possibilities that await you. However, you should also consider the fact you will most likely be living on a fixed budget and costs become crucial, according to...

You may have to take care of your parents in later life and it's best to prepare one step at a time. Life starts out with your parents taking care of you but often that scenario changes and you end up caring for your parents. Sometimes preparing for that situation is easy but not always...

What might happen if you have the talent for success but not the talent for business? As can often be the case, many extremely talented people accumulate large estates and they often are not prepared to take on the task of organizing the transfer of assets, according to the Reno Gazette Joural...

You may want access to some of your estate planning documents while traveling. Documents created in an estate plan such as a living will, durable power of attorney and others all need to be kept in a safe place. However, it might also be a good idea to have them easily accessible, according ...

Some issues are not easy to approach for discussion. However, they are necessary. With holidays upon us, it is perhaps a good time to have a conversation with your parents about long-term care and other aging issues, according to News3LV...

In today's world, it is not at all unusual to have a blended family. Blended families often face special challenges when it comes to estate planning. Those issues are best approached openly, according to JD Supra in “Seven Estate Planning Considerations For Blended Families.”

Strong finances and a full social life can often be the keys to success. There can be happy retirements and there can be challenging and perhaps even unhappy retirements. However, the state of those years is often created long before retirement age arrives, according to U.S. News & World Report...

Many retirement strategies are often presented in Hollywood. Even though it is an unlikely source of planning for retirement, the movie industry often leads to the thought process about the later years of life, according to USA Today...

You have options when it comes to saving for those tuition bills. What is the best way for one generation to save for the next generation to be funded for a college education? There are a number of ways to accomplish it, according to Penta...

There are ways to make both members of the couple knowledgeable about finances. There can be a high cost to the surviving member of a couple, if the member who passed away was the person who handled all of the household finances, according to The Wall Street Journal...

Early signs of the loss of a customer's mental agility may be recognized by banking personnel. New federal legislation gives banks and financial institutions new tools to join in the efforts to halt the ever-growing problem of elder financial abuse, according to The Wall Street Journal in...

Sometimes even having a will is not enough. Most people do not want their finances released to the public. However, if they are not careful with their estate plan, their financial world will become an open book, according to the Robb Report...

Joint accounts can sometimes be a problem for your estate. Making all of your accounts as Transfer on Death (TOD) or Payable on Death (POD) to avoid probate sounds like a simple solution. However, sometimes it can become a complex problem, according to The Mercury...

Consider your planned lifestyle before retiring, in order to choose the right location. As retirement approaches, many people need to decide between remaining in their home of many years, downsizing to a smaller location, or moving to a retirement community. However, many myths about retiremen...