Quiz: How Well Do You Know Your Estate Plan?
Think you know your estate plan? Take this quick estate planning quiz to find out.
Creating an estate plan is an important first step in protecting yourself, your family, and the assets you have worked hard to build. But simply having documents in a safe place does not necessarily mean your estate plan is still doing what you intended.
Life changes. Families change. Assets change. Your priorities can change, too.
That is why it is important to periodically review your estate plan and make sure you understand who is responsible for carrying out your wishes.
If you live in Hialeah or throughout Miami-Dade County, working with a Hialeah trust attorney can help you review your plan and identify potential gaps before your family needs to rely on it.
Take the Estate Plan Quiz
Try answering the following questions without looking at your documents.
If you know the answers immediately, that is a good sign. If you have to stop and think—or cannot remember at all—it may be time for an estate plan review.
1. Who is the executor of your will?
Your executor is responsible for handling the administration of your estate after your death and carrying out the instructions contained in your will.
Ask yourself: Is the person you originally selected still the right choice? Do they know they were named?
People’s circumstances change over time. Someone who was a good choice several years ago may no longer be available, willing, or appropriate to serve.
2. Who is your successor executor?
What happens if your first choice cannot serve?
Your estate plan should account for that possibility by identifying an appropriate backup. Without a suitable successor, your family may face additional court involvement and uncertainty.
3. When will your children or grandchildren receive their inheritance?
If you have created a trust for children or grandchildren, do you remember when they are scheduled to receive their inheritance outright?
An inheritance does not always need to be distributed all at once. Depending on your goals, a trust can provide for distributions at specific ages or under certain circumstances.
A distribution schedule that made sense when your documents were created may not necessarily make sense today.
4. Who would care for your minor children?
If you have minor children, do you know who you have nominated to care for them if something happens to you?
Choosing a guardian is one of the most important decisions a parent can make as part of an estate plan.
Your estate planning documents should reflect your current wishes and family circumstances. If your chosen guardian has moved away, is no longer able to serve, or your relationship has changed, your documents may need to be updated.
5. Who can handle your finances if you become incapacitated?
Estate planning is not just about what happens after death.
A comprehensive plan should also address what happens if you are alive but unable to manage your own financial affairs.
Your power of attorney allows you to designate someone you trust to handle financial matters on your behalf, subject to the authority provided in the document.
Ask yourself:
- Who is my agent?
- Do they know they have been chosen?
- Is my backup agent still appropriate?
- Does my power of attorney reflect my current circumstances?
6. Who can make medical decisions for you?
If you become unable to communicate your medical wishes, who will speak for you?
Your healthcare documents should identify the appropriate person to make healthcare decisions on your behalf and provide guidance regarding your wishes.
It is also important that the person you select understands their role before an emergency occurs.
7. Do your beneficiary designations match your estate plan?
This is an often-overlooked part of estate planning.
Certain assets—such as life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and some financial accounts—may pass according to beneficiary designations rather than through your will.
Ask yourself:
If something happened to me tomorrow, would my beneficiary designations distribute these assets exactly as I intend?
A divorce, marriage, birth of a child, death of a beneficiary, or other major life event may make an old beneficiary designation inconsistent with your current estate plan.
8. Are your assets properly coordinated with your trust?
If you have a revocable living trust, creating the trust document is only part of the process.
Your assets may need to be properly titled or otherwise coordinated with the trust for the plan to work as intended.
For example, if you created a trust with the goal of avoiding probate but never transferred your home into the trust when appropriate, your overall plan may not work the way you expected.
This is one reason a periodic review with a trust attorney in Hialeah can be valuable.
9. Does your family know where your estate planning documents are located?
Imagine your family needs to use your estate plan but does not know where to find your original signed documents.
That situation can create unnecessary stress and delays.
Make sure the appropriate people know how to locate your estate planning documents and understand who they should contact if something happens to you.
You should also review how your documents are stored whenever you update your plan.
10. Does your estate plan address your digital life?
Your estate is not limited to your house, bank accounts, and personal belongings.
Today, people may have:
- Online financial accounts
- Social media accounts
- Digital photographs
- Cryptocurrency
- Online businesses
- Subscription accounts
- Cloud storage
- Digital files and records
Your estate plan should take your digital assets and accounts into consideration where appropriate.
It is also important to understand that simply giving someone a password does not necessarily provide them with the legal authority to access or manage every type of digital asset.
How Did You Score?
There is no official passing grade—but your answers can tell you whether your estate plan deserves another look.
If you answered almost everything confidently:
Great job. You are familiar with your estate plan and the people you have selected to carry out your wishes.
That said, familiarity does not necessarily mean your documents are current. It is still a good idea to review your plan periodically, particularly after major life events.
If you knew some answers but struggled with others:
Your estate plan may need a refresher.
You may remember the general purpose of your documents but have forgotten important details, such as successor agents, distribution ages, or how specific assets are handled.
If you struggled with many of the questions:
It may be time for an estate plan checkup.
This does not necessarily mean your estate plan is defective. It may simply mean that your circumstances have changed—or that enough time has passed that you should review your documents with an attorney.
When Should You Review Your Estate Plan?
There is no universal schedule that works for everyone, but you should consider reviewing your estate plan after significant changes in your life.
Examples include:
- Marriage or divorce
- Birth or adoption of a child
- Death of a beneficiary or decision-maker
- Significant changes in your finances
- Purchasing or selling a home
- Starting or selling a business
- Moving to another state
- Changes involving your children or grandchildren
- Changes in relationships with your chosen agents or beneficiaries
Even if nothing major has changed, periodically reviewing your documents can help ensure that your estate plan still reflects your wishes.
Your Estate Plan Should Keep Up With Your Life
An estate plan is not a document you create once and forget about forever.
Your family, finances, relationships, and goals can change over the years. Your estate plan should be reviewed accordingly.
If this quiz made you realize that you cannot remember important details of your plan, that is not a reason to panic. It is simply a good reason to take another look.
A Hialeah trust attorney can review your current documents, discuss changes in your circumstances, and help determine whether your estate plan still accomplishes your goals.
At Lamas Law PA, we help individuals and families create and review estate plans designed around their unique circumstances and wishes.
Ready to see whether your estate plan still works for you? Contact Demi Lamas at Lamas Law PA to schedule an estate planning consultation.