As you prepare for your upcoming travel, make sure to ready yourself and your home, take important security measures, and your estate plan before you depart.
Personal Preparation
- Pack clothing and other personal belongings appropriate for the weather in your destination.
- Fill your necessary prescriptions or make sure you can fill them while you are gone.
- If you plan to drive to your destination, prepare your car and verify insurance coverage:
- Take your car in for routine maintenance and an inspection prior to travel.
- Check with your automobile insurer to ensure that your coverage includes your destination state.
- Make arrangements for your pets. This may include arranging for someone to care for them or preparing them to travel with you.
Home Preparation
- Empty your refrigerator.
- Unplug any appliances that will not be used during your absence (television, computer, small electrical appliances, etc.).
- Adjust or program your thermostat.
- Winterize your water pipes if necessary.
- Ask your insurer about additional steps you may need to take to keep your homeowner’s insurance policy active while your house is unoccupied.
Security Measures
- Stop (or forward) your mail delivery and other regularly scheduled services.
- Check your security system or consider purchasing a doorbell camera or similar device to monitor your home while you are away.
- Ask a neighbor or trusted friend to stop by your house periodically to deter thieves and to ensure nothing is physically wrong with your house or property. They can also be sure any unexpected deliveries are picked up.
- Call your bank and credit card companies to alert them about your extended travel, especially if you will be staying in a foreign country. If you plan to use your credit cards, call the credit card company for each card you might use and let them know you will be traveling from your home to your destination so that they are aware and do not flag unusual activity.
Estate Plan
- Review your estate planning documents and answer the following questions:
- Do you know where the original documents are?
- Do your named successor fiduciaries (i.e., trustee, personal representative, guardian of a minor child, agents under a financial or medical power of attorney) know how to obtain your estate planning documents should something happen to you?
- Do you want to make any changes to your named fiduciaries? Are they still willing and able to act?
- Are your named beneficiaries still alive? Are there any additional individuals or charities you would like to leave something to in your estate plan? Do you want to make any adjustments to the amount of an inheritance or the manner in which you are leaving an inheritance to a beneficiary?
- Are your beneficiary designations in your retirement accounts and life insurance policies up to date? Do the named beneficiaries match the rest of your estate plan?
Contact us at 708.448.5169 to help answer any questions you may have prior to your travels and we can help you find an experienced estate planning attorney licensed in your destination state to review your existing documents for compliance with the destination state’s laws.
