New Year Organization

January is a good month to organize, particularly your finances, as January is typically the month when most people receive their 1099s showing interest or dividend income, year end statements showing balances in all your accounts, and new Social Security statements showing any adjustment in monthly checks.  This makes January also a good month to make sure your Estate Planning documents are up to date.
As part of our Estate Planning documents, we include an organizer, where you can keep track for your family of where you have accounts, who the contact person is, addresses, and approximate balances. We have heard back from many people that this has been very valuable in administering an estate or trust when that time comes.  However, it is only valuable if it is up to date and accurate.
Another common thing that some people do is to create an annual spreadsheet, showing changes in accounts, from year to year, and increases and decreases, or other changes. 
If you want to review your estate plan, please call our office to schedule a time. For convenience, we are doing appointments by telephone, Zoom calls, or in person.