by Gene Walden

The New Year can be a good opportunity to take a fresh look at your financial situation and make sure that all the areas that are important to you and your family are adequately covered.

Proper financial planning involves a lot more than simply investing your dollars in stocks, bonds or mutual funds. Your financial advisor should be able to help you take a look at your entire financial picture. Here are some of the areas you and your advisor may wish to evaluate:

Insurance. Would your family be able to continue to enjoy the same standard of living if something were to happen to you or your spouse? You may wish to reevaluate your life insurance coverage to make sure it is adequate to provide for your family and assure your children of the education they need to succeed in life. You should also make sure you have adequate disability and health insurance to pay the bills if you become ill or disabled for an extended period. Your advisor can help you determine the level of insurance coverage you and your spouse need to protect your family in case of the unexpected.

Asset allocation. Do you have the proper allocation of stocks, bonds and other investments in your portfolio based on your age and financial goals? As you get closer to retirement—and to reaching your retirement savings goals—the more conservative you may want to be with your asset allocation. Your financial advisor can help you determine a proper asset mix based on your financial situation and your goals and objectives.

Estate planning. Do you and your spouse have a will and an estate plan that will properly distribute your assets to your family, friends and favorite charities? A trust can help you and your beneficiaries shelter your assets from taxes and it can make it easier for your assets to flow directly to your beneficiaries. You might also want to set up other estate planning-related documents, such as a power of attorney and a health care proxy, which grant authority to another person to make legal or medical decisions for you in the event you are not able to make those decisions on your own. You should also consider setting up a living will, which stipulates the level of care you prefer if you become incapacitated. Your financial advisor will be able to help you set up an estate plan that will make life easier for you and your family, both medically and financially, in the years to come.

Retirement account. Have you contributed the maximum amount to your tax-sheltered retirement account? A retirement account can help you save on taxes now and grow your investments tax-exempt until you retire.

College savings. Will your children have the money they need to attend the college or university of their choice? The sooner you begin to save, the easier it will be to finance your children’s college costs. You can talk to your financial advisor about setting up a tax-sheltered 529 college education savings plan or other plan to help cover your children’s higher education costs.