Make sure your estate(财产) plan keeps up with life changes

Few things are as important as estate planning. If you don’t handle your business while you’re alive, the ramifications(影响) can run deep and wide long after you’re gone.

Estate planning may seem discouraging because it deals with issues of aging. Or maybe you think estate planning is only something folks like Bill Gates do. It’s for everybody. 【小题1】Here’s how.

What’s an estate plan? Think of estate planning as a set of legal documents that spell out who gets your possession when you die, who you want to make medical decisions, who should make financial decisions on your behalf, and more. 【小题2】

This is not a one-shot deal. It’s great that you finally got your will done, have your medical directives in place, and gave someone power of attorney. 【小题3】Life is changing. Your documents should keep pace with change.

“Remember to update beneficiaries on life insurance policies after the first spouse(配偶) dies,” says Martin Levine, chief financial officer for 4Thought Financial Group in Syosset.【小题4】

Get help. This is one time when DIY probably isn’t a good idea. Talk to a financial adviser, preferably one with expertise in estate planning.

【小题5】 Don’t assume that establishing joint tenancy (sharing ownership in personal property, such as a home) or joint ownership over financial accounts is enough to protect your assets.

Boomerang kids refer to adult children who return to their parents’ homes after moving out. In July 2020, 52% of young adults in the US lived with one or both of their parents — the highest percentage the US has seen since 1940. In the UK, the number of single, 20-to-34-year-olds living with their parents went up by 55% from 2008 to 2017.

There are many reasons for young people to move back home, says Hipplewith, a family expert. The primary reason is the high cost of living. Everything is so expensive. Staying home means financial support from family as they prepare for starting a career. Usually being a boomeranger is just a transitional period. But it still may last many months or even years to enable boomerangers to establish themselves in a career without worrying about things like rents.

For many, a return to home after living away can feel like a regression (倒退) and loss of recently won independence. “For example, you learn to become an adult in university,” says Hipplewith. “You have friends. You can do what you want to do. But now you’re coming back under someone else’s rule.” This can come with anxiety. Still, there are benefits to the boomerangers, say experts. Many of these adults are finding the increased ability to do work they find meaningful, rather than take a job that simply pays the bills. Socially, boomerang kids also have a good opportunity to strengthen relationships with their parents.

In many cultures, moving away from home has traditionally been considered a crucial step in becoming an adult. Now it’s time to change the idea. Adulthood is really just being old enough to take responsibilities; that doesn’t go away if you move in with parents again. Hipplewith hopes that as being a boomeranger becomes more common, young adults will feel less pressure to follow traditional expectations of moving out. He encourages young people to view a return to home as “sane decision-making”.

From 20-pound turkeys to Christmas cookies, with their emphasis on food, experts agree the holidays are an ideal time to get kids involved in the kitchen.

“I think it helps build up their confidence and their independence,” Charleston-based chef and mother-of-two Aimee Jones said. “They say, ‘Look, I can make something yummy.’ Especially when they can share it with their parents, it definitely helps them build confidence in themselves.”

Instilling(灌输) a comfort level with cooking at an early age can create a life-long habit of making meals at home and help to develop a healthy relationship with food.

Nico Romo, a father of three said. “If something goes wrong with the heat on the stove, they know they can handle it. And they’re using their hands to create things. They can already draw and do all those things, so why can’t they hold and chop a vegetable? You show them and watch them. It’s a lot of fun.”

Involving children in creating their favorite holiday treats also makes for a one-of-a-kind bonding experience. “For better, you will share recipes and anecdotes that you learned at the elbows of mothers and grandmothers long gone,” they wrote.

“For worse, you will whine(埋怨) and lose your patience when they accidentally spill heavy cream all over the kitchen table while making mini-shortcakes with berries, but they will love you anyway, teaching you, the one who’s supposed to be the grown-up, about unconditional affection and ready forgiveness.”