Life insurance applications have spiked over the past month as COVID-19 spurs people into action. Here’s what you need to know about COVID-19’s effect on life insurance.

Google ‘Financial planning in your 20s, 30s or 40s’ and you will get dozens of results that tell you exactly what your financial life ‘should’ look like at each age. The problem with this approach is that people follow different paths and what different things from life. Not everyone has a plan nor wants to have a life plan. Not everyone is going to go to college, start a career, and settle down in their 20s, or 30s, or even 40s. At Willingworth, we know the world is changing and life is less traditional. We understand and celebrate that.

You may have noticed that a lot of our competition allows you to purchase estate planning documents piecemeal. The idea seems to be that you can buy what you want, which may not be what you actually need, and get out without spending a ton of your hard-earned money.

Sounds good on the surface. Too bad it’s not a great approach to planning.

We know legal terms can be confusing. Here you’ll find an alphabetized list of terms you may encounter in the planning process.

An advance directive for health care is a document that allows you to make decisions about your health care today in the event you become unconscious and unable to communicate those decisions tomorrow. Each state has its own laws that prescribe the form of the document. Most states refer to this document as an “advance directive for health care." Other descriptions include “living will,” “health care proxy,” and “health care power of attorney.”

A power of attorney is a legal document that an individual signs to give another individual, presumably a spouse, partner, family member or trusted individual, the authority or ‘power’ to act on their behalf. A common situation where a power of attorney or “POA” can be extremely valuable occurs when someone experiences a long-term hospitalized and needs help managing their finances.

Your will is the foundational document of your estate plan. This article breaks down the Willingworth Will, what each section does, and what it means for you.