Travel Season Checklist: Legal & Estate Documents to Review

One thing I’ve noticed with many of our clients is that—like most people—they love to travel. Jet-setting is a common delight, but there are a few important details to handle before you head out: your legal and estate documents.

1. The Five-Minute Safety Sweep

If your estate plan is mostly in order, this review should be a breeze. Make sure the following items are buttoned up in case you’re unreachable:

• Financial Power of Attorney (POA): Review your POA to confirm the right person is listed. Be sure it’s durable—it must remain valid if you become incapacitated.
• Healthcare Power of Attorney (POA): Check that your healthcare POA names the correct decision-maker and that hospitals can speak with them.
• Beneficiary Designations: Verify beneficiaries on every IRA, 401(k), health savings account (HSA), brokerage account, life insurance policy, and so on. These designations override your will.
• Access & Information Guide: Complete—or update—your guide before you leave. It should include contact details for your CPA, attorney, advisor, and insurance agent. Clients, please reach out if you’d like a copy of the packet to fill out.

2. Core Estate Documents: A Pre-Flight Review

Will

Is your will up to date with your current wishes? Confirm that the people you’ve named are still alive, willing, and able to serve. Adjust any bequests for new relationships, charitable goals, or asset changes.

Revocable Living Trust

Many people establish trusts but never fully complete the funding process. Ensure all recommended assets—bank accounts, brokerage assets, real estate—are correctly titled in the trust.

Financial Power of Attorney

Decide whether your POA is immediate or springing (activated upon incapacity). Modern POAs should explicitly cover digital assets, private-equity interests, and LLC membership—crucial for business owners and active investors.

Healthcare Power of Attorney & Advance Directive

Confirm that directives for life support, organ donation, and pain management are crystal clear. Make sure the HIPAA release is signed and that your healthcare decision-maker has a copy. Sharing information across hospital systems can be tricky, so this is critical.

Access & Information Guide

An up-to-date guide keeps you organized. It gathers account logins, insurance details, and professional contacts—all in one secure place. If you’re a client and need a fresh template, let me or anyone on the BGM Wealth team know.

3. Extra Travel Precautions

• Children: If your kids will be at home, provide medical-consent forms to their caregiver. International travel may also require a parental travel authorization letter.
• Business Owners: Consider a corporate resolution outlining who can run payroll, access the line of credit, and write vendor checks while you’re away.
• Real Estate or Deal Closings: Issue a limited POA to your attorney so you’re not DocuSigning from Machu Picchu.

4. Insurance Tune-Up

• Umbrella Liability Coverage: Verify you have sufficient coverage to limit risk.
• Travel Insurance: Review what your regular insurance covers and purchase travel insurance if necessary—many plans exclude medical evacuation.
• Disability & Life Insurance: Check that policy details and beneficiaries are accurate after life milestones such as marriages, promotions, or a new grandchild in the family.

Final Boarding Call

Bottom line: Estate planning isn’t morbid—it’s simply clearing the runway so your family can fly smoothly if life throws a curveball mid-trip. Give the paperwork a focused 20-minute once-over now, and future you—clinking a glass of bubbly in seat 2A—will silently thank present you for the foresight.

So, toss the chargers, AirTags, and travel-size sunscreen into your bag, but don’t forget the best travel memento of all: a freshly tuned-up power of attorney.

The opinion of the author is subject to change without notice and must be considered in conjunction with relevant regulation, as well as subsequent changes in the marketplace. Any information from outside resources has been deemed to be reliable but has not necessarily been verified. Each individual has unique circumstances to which this information may or may not be relevant. Under no circumstances will this information constitute an offer to buy or sell and it does not indicate strategy suitability for any particular investor.