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Life event
Job Loss: what to review in your estate plan
When a job ends, employer-provided life and health coverage may end with it, just when a family is most exposed. You may not be able to afford a full plan right now, but the basics matter more, not less.
Worth reviewing
- Whether group life or disability insurance stops, and how to replace it
- Decisions about retirement accounts, and who is named as beneficiary on any new account
- That health care and financial powers of attorney are in place, so someone can act if you are ill or stressed
- Which documents can wait, and which cannot
Documents to look at first
For this life event, these are the documents most often affected. Your own list depends on your family and what you have already signed.
- Life and disability insurance
- Beneficiary designations (retirement, insurance, bank accounts)
- Financial power of attorney
- Health care power of attorney and living will
When to act
As soon as you can.
Related life events
Not sure where your plan stands?
A consultation is the place to talk through what has changed and what to update first. Nothing is finalized until we have talked.
This page is general information about Illinois law and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. See the Disclaimer. Last updated October 2026.