Did you leave these items out of your estate plan?

When you created your estate plan, you checked a significant task off of your to-do list. While you knew you might need to make changes in the future, you may have overlooked some of the essential items when updating your estate plan.

An estate plan should not be a set-it-and-forget-it document. As your life and assets change, so should your estate plan.

These are some of the most commonly overlooked assets that may be missing from your estate plan.

Digital assets and cryptocurrency

One of the great aspects of digital storage is that it does not take up physical space. You do not have to think about where you will store your cryptocurrencies or other digital assets.

Unfortunately, not seeing regular statements containing them means you can easily forget these assets when creating your estate plan. This tends to be true with cryptocurrency since many crypto investors do not buy, sell or spend them regularly.

When digital assets are not part of your estate plan, your loved ones may not know the accounts exist or even where to look for them. This can mean that important assets could go unclaimed.

Alternate beneficiaries

When it was time to create your estate plan, you had an idea of what assets it needed to include and which beneficiaries you wanted to designate. In most instances, death is unpredictable. There could be circumstances that exclude a beneficiary, such as still being a minor or passing away before you.

A thorough estate plan should include alternate beneficiaries. Alternates can make the probate process smoother if a beneficiary is no longer (or not yet) eligible to receive an asset. When you do not designate an alternate, it can lengthen the probate process because the personal representative and probate court will need to determine what rules apply when there is no alternate named.

One of the greatest benefits of a thorough estate plan is the peace of mind you achieve in knowing your plan will make the probate process simpler for your loved ones. A skilled professional can help you determine if assets or details are missing from your estate plan.