Whether you follow college basketball or not, odds are, you’ve probably heard of March Madness. If you ask anyone who knows me, they would likely tell you that I am totally not a basketball girl. I am a football girl! Please don’t hold this against me, but I am a diehard New England Patriots fan. However, I happen to be married to a College Basketball Super Star/hall-of-famer/CIAA champion. So, while basketball is not exactly my thing, I’ve had to show some interest in March Madness, and know a little bit about the topic.  You’ve probably figured it out by now, but I can connect just about any topic to Estate & Proactive Planning. March Madness is no different. I absolutely believe there are a number of lessons we can learn from March Madness and Basketball as a whole.

I have to admit, the concept of creating a bracket was actually very confusing to me. As a football girl, I’ve played my fair share of fantasy football. If I pick Gronk, a tight end for the New England Patriots to be on my fantasy football team this week, and he totally sucks or he gets injured, I can swap him out the following week. With a bracket however, at least as it’s been explained to me, once it is created, it cannot be modified.

Unfortunately, a number of people treat their Estate Plans like their brackets. They’ve studied the odds, picked certain people to be in charge of their affairs, created their Wills or Trusts, and they never revisit or modify the documents when circumstances change. They sit, they wait, they pray, and they hope things play out according to their wishes. Life is full of surprises. Unfortunately, things seldom play out as we expect or hope. Therefore, it is a terrible Idea to treat your Estate Plan like your bracket. In fact, you should consider treating your Estate Plan like your fantasy football team. Unlike your bracket, your Estate Plan can and should be modified anytime your circumstances or family dynamics change. If something no longer works, don’t just hope for the best, swap it out for something that does.