You have traveled to London, aside from some beautiful paintings and clothing accessories you have purchased a large beautiful chandelier imported from Chiang Mai, the furniture capital of Thailand. The chandelier is beautiful and will go perfectly in your New York home, however, this furniture item was not inexpensive. Are you making sure your new treasures are protected?
Did you know travel insurance does not only cover a local doctor’s visit? Travel insurance often covers things such as trip interruptions, lost or stolen items, trip cancellation and more! Before you leave be sure to research your options and figure out what is best for you. You can purchase travel insurance for as little as $2.50 a day as we discussed in our last two articles in this series. So if you’re contemplating taking a big trip, it is a good idea to keep yourself protected.
Upon taking this big trip and bringing your valuable back home, be sure to update your estate plan as well. You want to make sure your valuable item is protected! Your valuable items can be written into estate planning documents such as your trust agreement or directly into your last will and testament. If written in your will, however, remember it will go through probate which is time consuming, public and expensive in our state.
Don’t limit your thinking about protecting your valuables only to when you travel. Set a reminder at least once a year to sit back and go through your tangible personal property to make sure it is protected. Your valuables including antiques, guns, figurines, family photos… the list goes on and on, and they need to be protected. Set a recurring meeting to sit down with your attorney and make sure that all your documents are up-to-date and reflect your wishes.
Do not wait! Stay on top of updating your valuable items within your estate planning documents. If you value your items now, you want them to be handled with care after you are gone. By including your valuables within your estate plan you can protect your wishes and be sure to make the transition for your family easier.
Don’t forget, this is Part 5 of our Travel Safe! series. If you missed our previous installments, not to worry, you can read them by going over to our blog using this link.
