
The New Year is a time for fresh starts and meaningful resolutions. While many focus on personal health, career aspirations, or financial goals, it’s also the perfect time to consider your family’s future. One goal that often goes overlooked—but is essential for peace of mind—is estate planning.
Estate planning isn’t just about wills and financial assets; it’s also about ensuring a smooth transition for personal belongings, avoiding family conflicts, and preserving cherished memories. The New Year offers a chance to approach this important task with clarity, intention, and collaboration.
Here’s how your family can set estate planning goals that make 2024 a year of preparation, connection, and peace of mind.
Why Estate Planning Should Be a Family Goal
Estate planning is a personal responsibility, but it often has the biggest impact on your loved ones. Taking steps to organize and communicate your wishes can:
Reduce Stress and Conflict
Without clear planning, families may face confusion and disputes over how to handle personal belongings and financial matters. Proper planning minimizes misunderstandings and keeps the focus on honoring your legacy.
Ensure Your Wishes Are Honored
Estate planning gives you control over how your assets are distributed, ensuring that your wishes—not state laws—determine what happens to your belongings.
Create an Opportunity for Family Collaboration
When approached collaboratively, estate planning can strengthen family bonds. It’s a chance to share stories, reflect on shared values, and align on future goals.
Preserve Emotional and Financial Value
Many belongings have sentimental or financial value. Documenting these items and their stories helps ensure they are cared for and passed on in a meaningful way.
Steps to Set Family Goals for Estate Planning
Start the Conversation
Estate planning can feel like a daunting or even uncomfortable topic, but the New Year provides a natural opportunity to start. Frame it as a family goal to prepare for the future and protect what matters most.
• Use a family gathering or virtual call to introduce the topic.
• Highlight how planning now prevents stress and confusion later.
• Emphasize the importance of teamwork and shared input.
Assess the Current Situation
Begin by taking stock of your estate planning progress. Ask yourself:
• Do I have a will? Is it up to date?
• Are my financial accounts and assets accounted for?
• Have I documented and organized my tangible personal property?
Set Specific Goals for 2024
Breaking estate planning into smaller, actionable goals makes it less overwhelming. Examples include:
• Complete a Will or Trust: If you don’t have a will, resolve to create one. If you do, review and update it.
• Create a Home Inventory: Document your belongings, including heirlooms, furniture, and personal items, to avoid disputes and simplify distribution.
• Assign Beneficiaries: Clearly designate beneficiaries for your assets, from bank accounts to family keepsakes.
• Discuss Your Plans with Loved Ones: Share your decisions to ensure everyone understands your wishes.
Focus on Personal Belongings
While financial planning often takes center stage, don’t overlook the importance of tangible items. Family heirlooms and personal belongings are often the most emotionally charged elements of estate planning.
• Document Items and Their Stories: Tools like SaveOr make it easy to photograph, describe, and assign sentimental items to loved ones.
• Encourage Input: Ask family members what items are most meaningful to them. This transparency prevents misunderstandings and ensures items are passed on thoughtfully.
Consult Professionals
Estate planning isn’t something you need to tackle alone. Work with professionals such as estate planning attorneys or financial advisors to ensure your plans are legally sound and comprehensive.
Making Estate Planning Collaborative
Approaching estate planning as a family project can turn a daunting task into an opportunity for connection. Here are a few ways to make it a shared effort:
Host a Planning Meeting: Dedicate time for family members to share their thoughts and concerns. Make it a collaborative discussion rather than a one-sided announcement.
Share the Stories: Use estate planning as a chance to tell the stories behind sentimental items. This helps loved ones understand why certain belongings hold special value.
Divide Responsibilities: Assign tasks like gathering documentation, cataloging belongings, or researching legal requirements to family members.
A Real-Life Example
Consider the Wilson family, who made estate planning their collective New Year’s resolution last year. They started by creating an inventory of their home’s contents, focusing on heirlooms like their grandmother’s china set and a collection of vintage holiday ornaments.
Using a collaborative tool, they invited family members to weigh in on which items they cherished most. To their surprise, some items they assumed no one cared about—like an old wooden rocking chair—turned out to have deep sentimental value.
By the end of the year, the Wilsons had a completed estate plan, ensuring both financial security and emotional clarity for the future. More importantly, the process brought them closer as a family.
Ringing in 2024 with Peace of Mind
This New Year, resolve to take the steps that protect your family’s future. Estate planning might not seem like a typical resolution, but it’s one that brings lasting benefits to everyone involved.
By working together, documenting your wishes, and organizing your belongings, you can ensure that your legacy is one of love, thoughtfulness, and unity. Cheers to a New Year filled with preparation, connection, and peace of mind.
Author:
Matthew Scola
Founder of SaveOr, an estate planning platform focused on helping families through challenging life events. His insights come from interviewing and working with families and professionals to find a solution to the challenges of downsizing, estates, and estate management.