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December is the Perfect Time
to Check your Estate Plan
As the year ends, it's easy to get caught up in the holidays. But it is also the perfect time to give your estate plan a quick self-checkup. Even for well-made plans, small fixes and updates can make a big difference to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Review your Key People
Anyone who is appointed to act as a trustee, executor, guardian or agent should reflect your wishes and be able to serve. If someone has passed away, moved or no longer feels like the best choice, those roles should be updated.
Check your Beneficiaries
Confirm that your beneficiaries are up to date. Beneficiaries do not always update when there is a birth, death, marriage, divorce or other change. It is important to check the beneficiaries of your estate plan and all of your financial accounts, such as your checking, savings, retirement accounts and any other financial account you may have.
Confirm your Assets are Properly Titled
The most common threat to your estate plan is improperly titled assets. An improperly-titled asset may not be distributed according to your will or trust.
Take Advantage of Year-end Strategies
Gifts, charitable donations and other activities typically need to be completed by December 31 to be included in the current tax year. Acting early ensures you don't miss out on opportunities to lower your taxes.
These and other year-end reviews of your estate plan can save you from costly and stressful surprises later. Proactively checking your estate plan in December can ensure your plan remains relevant and effective.
Law Attorney Michael Yeager 471-2177

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Six Weeks Until 2026
Six "Comms Strat" Things to Do for a Better Year in Business
1. Get your reputation management sites optimized.
Whether most of your clients use Yelp, Google, Facebook, Thumbtack, RealSelf or other popular reputation management site to find and evaluate your social proof doesn't matter as much as what you do with that complimentary business profile. Spend 10 minutes researching how to take full advantage of the free functions each applicable site offers and then fix and update your content, load new photos and, if allowed, request additional reviews from your brand champions.
2. Craft a social media strategy.
Remember that one time you swore to yourself you'd post daily - and then ghosted every platform for months? In these last six weeks of the year, it's time to get real about your true capacity for social media management - and, smarter still - it's time to create a strategy that's in alignment with your goals. Few businesses need to post daily, few businesses benefit from viral content, few businesses use social media effectively for SEO. Be the business that does this right.
3. Make a new plan to reach old customers.
The marketing adage, "the best client you'll have is the client you already have" is true. Client reactivation is, generally speaking, cheaper and more effective than new client acquisition. New service, new offer, new pricing, new upgrade? Figure it out and then strategize how to communicate value and make the sale.
4. Budget for your 2026 marketing placements.
Success in 2026 will require a layered approach that touches both traditional and new-media channels. Be ready to switch up messaging if they're duds - don't put good money behind bad.
5. Make 2026 the year your website is updated (the right way).
Web designers are rarely marketing pros. Get an idea of what you need your website to really do, get informed about what your website can do to drive new business and work with someone who can coordinate the job to get it done right - including scheduled updates going forward.
6. Stop acting like you're a marketing strategist.
Today's marketing and communications spaces are complicated, ever-changing and overwhelming. Few business owners have the skill and capacity to DIY. Even if you only meet with a strategist once a year, you'll prevent knee-jerk decisions that can cost a fortune without generating one.
Therese Edwards is a small- and medium-sized business communications strategist and academic in her field. InsideSCV clients enjoy complimentary comm-strat consultations with the purchase of their advertising or marketing contract. Call for more details.
298-4586