With a new year comes a new opportunity to reconsider your estate and financial plan and make sure it is up-to-date – or to make one if you don’t have on already! Because we are time-bound mortals, the change of seasons reminds us of changes in our lives and of their fragility.

As I sat down recently to draft updated estate planning documents for myself and my family, I remember that dread feeling of "someone walking on my grave." It was not pleasant, but, then again, neither are many things we all faithfully undertake on a regular basis. So, despite the discomfort, press on!

Have you ever drafted documents at all? If not, you should know that the State’s choices on your behalf are not usually the best ones for you. That should not come as a surprise, but if you fail to plan, you have made those choices your own.

Can you find the originals of your documents? Could your family find them? If the originals of your documents cannot be found after your death, your plan will be for naught, and your affairs will proceed as if you had no plan – using the state’s plan, with all of its flaws.

Have you reviewed your documents recently? Are your fiduciaries – the people you named to serve your family and your estate in the event of a tragedy – still alive? Do you still know them? Would they still be willing to serve?

Are your beneficiary designations up-to-date on wills, trusts, insurance, and retirement assets? Do you know where to find your beneficiaries? Could your fiduciaries find your beneficiaries? It’s a shame to waste money trying to find people after the death of the only person who knew how to locate them. It’s an even greater shame to have money going to the wrong people when it’s too late to do anything about it.

Consider your choice of guardian for children or others under your care – disabled spouse, parents, minor grandchildren. Are the persons you have named still the best for the situation? In this most crucial of areas of responsibility, be sure you have discharged it well.

Review amounts of insurance. Do you remember what the amount of insurance was to cover? Is that amount still adequate? Is it too much? As our lives change, so do our responsibilities. The amount projected to pay off the mortgage, raise and educate the kids, and supplement the surviving spouse’s retirement may not be needed as you approach retirement with the house mostly paid off, the kids finishing college and retirement income your pressing need.

Review your retirement plan. Are you investing enough? Are the assumptions still correct? You might need to save more, to invest differently, or to work longer or take a part-time job upon retirement. Better to determine that now, as unpleasant as it might seem, than to find out only after bad assumptions lead to a bankrupt retirement.

If your planning needs updating, make it happen this year. Consult with your professional advisors, and make sure that your planning meets your reality.