With natural disasters such as hurricanes, flooding and wildfires affecting various regions of the country, you may be wondering if (and how) these natural disasters can have any impact on your estate plan. The effect of natural disasters on estate plans is examined in further detail below.
Do Natural Disasters Impact Estate Planning?
Yes, natural disasters can absolutely have an impact on your estate planning – in numerous ways. Potential consequences surrounding your estate plan and natural disasters include the following:
- Potential loss of estate planning documents
- Potential loss of assets in your estate
- Potential impact to property value
- Inability to access medical care
- Potential impacts on your business
Potential loss of estate planning documents
When natural disaster strikes, your home can suffer damages. As a result of this, depending on where you have your estate planning documents stored, those documents could suffer damages as well, and may even be totally destroyed.
Potential loss of assets in your estate
In addition to your estate planning documents, a natural disaster may cause damage to assets in your estate that you intended to pass on to loved ones.
Potential impact to property value
Natural disaster can wreak havoc on your home and negatively impact your property’s value – which in turn can have an impact on your estate as a whole.
Inability to access medical care
If, say, your medical power of attorney becomes lost or destroyed as a result of natural disaster, it could cause your medical wishes to not be honored should you require care. This brings to light an important factor: having backup copies of your estate planning documents.
Potential impacts on your business
Your home might not be the only place impacted by a natural disaster; if you own a business, you may also experience loss of assets and/or property damage related to your business, which can have an effect on your estate plan.
Keeping Natural Disaster in Mind When Estate Planning: What to Know
Whether a hurricane, flood, tornado, wildfire or other type of natural disaster, the key is staying prepared. This applies not only to preparing for the storm itself, but keeping your estate plan in mind. Some of the natural disaster preparation for your estate plan can involve:
- Ensuring documents are kept in a secure place, and that backup copies are also securely held
- Keeping your estate plan up to date, as the natural disaster can potentially impact your estate plan
- Creating a list of all the assets you have and how much each is worth
- Ensuring that you have adequate insurance
- Keeping appropriate parties up to date if any changes are made to your estate plan
For any questions regarding your other estate planning needs, we are here to help. Contact us today to learn more about how we can work with you.
For more information regarding various estate planning and elder law topics, view our resources page, where you will be able to find previous blog articles, newsletters and our informative webinar series.
