5 commonly forgotten assets to include in an estate plan

On Behalf of | Jul 28, 2021 | Estate Planning

When you’re building your estate plan, there are some common mistakes that you should watch out for. Forgetting to include certain assets in the estate plan could negatively impact you or your family in the future, so it’s important not to miss them.

Here are five assets that are commonly missed in estate planning that you should remember to include.

  1. Cash or bank accounts

The first thing to include in your estate plan is any cash you have on hand or in your home. For example, if you keep a stash of money in your closet that others don’t know about, you should include its location and beneficiary designation in the estate plan. Also include bank accounts in your plans, even if you’ve already designated a beneficiary for the account.

  1. Real estate

Even if your spouse is also on the title to a property, it’s smart to include your real estate in your estate plan. If you don’t include real estate in the estate plan and your spouse passes away before you, your beneficiaries could have to go through probate if you don’t include that property in the plan before you die.

  1. Jewelry items

If you have any pieces of jewelry that you’d like to pass on to your heirs, it’s a good choice to include those items in your estate plan. You can add them to a trust or simply write out which pieces you’d like to go to which beneficiaries.

  1. Life insurance policies

It’s smart to include your life insurance policy in your estate plan so that your children, spouse or other beneficiaries know where to find it and who it will pay out to. It’s even better if you set up a trust for the benefits to pay into.

  1. Artwork

If you’ve collected artwork that has any kind of value, you should include it in your estate plan to make sure it’s donated or passed on to the correct beneficiaries.

These are five commonly forgotten assets during estate planning. Include them, so that your loved ones can avoid probate and know what to expect after you pass away.