Spring Cleaning
Sarah J. Malchow, CFRE Vice President of Development
I have a confession to make. I thoroughly enjoy all of the efforts it takes to make a house a home. I love cooking. I love cleaning. And I very much love organizing. So you should not be surprised to learn that I welcome spring and the seasonal tidying that accompanies it.
Spring can also be a good time to clean out, update, and organize your important records and documents. But before you host your own “shred fest” of old tax filings or supporting documentation, be sure you plan to either save hard copies of filings or scan them in a document scanner to keep electronically. While the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) states on their website that there are varying lengths of time to save various types of filings, a safe bet is seven years. You can visit IRS.gov for more information. It’s also a great time to make sure that any powers of attorney (healthcare or financial) are up to date and reflect your current wishes and relationships. Additionally, if you have any advanced directives, now is the time to revisit to make sure they still align with your thinking. Last, in order to make sure that your wishes are honored, carefully review any beneficiary designations (life insurance policies, retirement accounts, or refunds), carefully read through your will or trust documents, and revisit any accounts or property that you may own with others to make sure your documents reflect your intent. Life isn’t as simple as it used to be. But, with a little good tidying—it can certainly be made a bit easier.
Happy cleaning!
P.S.: If you are interested in more informative tips like these, be sure to sign up for our free twice-monthly newsletter. In it we share news, updates, and reminders about wills, trusts, and taxes. Please email Deb Meinert, philanthropy manager, at dmeinert@cedarcommunity.org or call her at 262.338.2819 to sign up today! cedarcommunity.org
SPRING 2022 |
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