Planning with Purpose: Life Insurance & Your Estate Plan

You’ve already done the important work of creating an estate plan with us—protecting your loved ones, clarifying your wishes, and laying the groundwork for a secure future. But there’s one element that needs regular attention to stay effective: your life insurance policy.

Even the most carefully crafted estate plan can fall short if your life insurance isn’t updated and integrated. Life insurance plays a unique and powerful role—it provides immediate funds for your loved ones, bypasses probate, and can help settle debts, pay for final expenses, or support your children and dependents. But only if it’s current, accessible, and aligned with the rest of your plan.

Life Changes. So Should Your Policy.

Ask yourself:

• Has anything in your life changed? If you've gotten divorced, remarried, had children or grandchildren, or experienced a shift in your financial situation, it may be time to revisit your coverage.
• Are your beneficiaries still accurate? Life insurance proceeds go directly to the named beneficiaries, no matter what your will or trust says. If your designations are out of date, your plan may not reflect your current wishes.
• Do your loved ones know about the policy? A surprisingly common issue is life insurance that goes unclaimed simply because no one knew it existed. Make sure your legatees (and your executor or trustee) know where to find your policy and how to access it.
  
  

How It Fits into Your Plan

Because life insurance is treated separately from your will and trust, it’s essential that your policy and your estate plan work hand-in-hand. For example:

• If your trust is the beneficiary, is it structured to receive and manage those funds properly?
• If you're relying on life insurance to provide for minor children, do you have a guardian and/or trustee in place to manage those funds responsibly?
• Are the tax implications of your policy accounted for in your overall plan?

These are all things we can—and should—revisit periodically.

Let’s Keep Your Plan Working for You

If you’ve recently made changes to your life insurance, or it’s been a while since you reviewed it, this is the perfect time to connect. We’ll make sure every part of your estate plan, including your life insurance, is working together to support your goals and your loved ones’ needs.

Your life keeps moving—and your estate plan should, too.