American Heart Association webinar puts estate planning into plain language
An estimated 56% of Americans do not have an up-to-date estate plan, a gap that can leave families exposed to avoidable confusion when finances, caregiving decisions and charitable wishes have to be sorted under pressure. During National Estate Planning Awareness Week, the American Heart Association will try to lower that barrier with a free educational webinar designed for people who are starting from scratch and for those revisiting an existing plan.
The session, titled Your Legacy, Your Way: Estate Planning for Peace of Mind, is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20, at 1 p.m. Eastern, noon Central and 10 a.m. Pacific. It is framed as a practical guide rather than a legal seminar built for specialists, with an emphasis on the basic documents and decisions that most adults eventually need to confront.
Estate planning often gets postponed because the process feels abstract until a crisis forces it into the open. A clear conversation can change that.
Lee Shapiro, volunteer chairperson of the American Heart Association and managing partner and co-founder at 7wireVentures in Chicago, said estate planning is about more than financial documents. His framing places the topic where many families actually experience it: as a set of choices about loved ones, caregiving, property and support for causes that matter most. In that sense, the webinar is positioned to address both the emotional and practical sides of planning, which often stall people who know they need to act but do not know where to begin.
Why the basics matter for families and charities alike
The session will be led by attorney Megan Kelly of Megan M. Kelly Law and Trent Grzegorczyk, a wealth manager with Corso Wealth. Their roles point to the two domains that typically shape an estate plan: legal documentation and financial structure. Those pieces rarely work in isolation. Wills, beneficiary designations and other instructions need to fit together so assets move as intended and loved ones are not left to interpret incomplete paperwork.
The webinar is expected to cover essential documents commonly included in an estate plan, key decisions involved in planning for the future, considerations for people reviewing an existing plan and practical next steps that can make the process feel more manageable. For many households, the hardest part is not the legal language itself but deciding who should act, who should inherit and how to keep the plan aligned with changing family circumstances. A plan drafted years earlier can quickly become outdated after marriage, divorce, a birth, a death or a shift in assets.
Short, actionable guidance can matter more than dense legal language when people are trying to move from avoidance to action.
Participants who register will receive a collection of estate planning guides for instant download. Advance registration is required through heart.org/plan, a detail that signals the webinar is meant to serve as a structured starting point rather than a passive awareness message. The American Heart Association is also directing people to additional resources at heart.org/NEPAW, including information about wills and beneficiary designations.
Planned giving links personal wishes with the organization’s mission
The American Heart Association is also using the awareness week to explain how planned giving fits into its broader mission. Legacy gifts and charitable financial planning are presented as a way to support cardiovascular research, policy and care long after a donor’s lifetime. For organizations that depend on long-range funding, that kind of commitment can be as important as annual contributions because it provides durable support for programs that may take years to produce measurable benefits.
The association says donors who choose to make a legacy gift are recognized as members of the Paul Dudley White Legacy Circle, within the Cor Vitae Society. The naming nods to one of the organization’s founders and a pioneer of preventive cardiology, linking present-day giving to the history of cardiovascular prevention. The message is straightforward: estate planning is personal, but it can also be a vehicle for extending health priorities beyond one household.
Since 1949, the American Heart Association has invested more than $6.3 billion in scientific discovery. That figure is more than a fundraising statistic; it reflects a sustained flow of resources into research, education and public health efforts aimed at cardiovascular disease and stroke. Planned gifts help preserve that pipeline, especially when research and community programs need support that survives changes in annual donor behavior.
For readers weighing the value of a plan, the practical issue is not abstract legacy language. It is whether instructions are clear enough to protect family members, limit conflict and direct assets where the donor intends. A will, beneficiary designations and related documents can either reduce uncertainty or create it, depending on how carefully they are updated.
The webinar arrives at a moment when many adults still treat estate planning as something reserved for the wealthy, even though the need is far broader. Any household with assets, dependents, digital accounts or charitable priorities can benefit from a documented plan. The American Heart Association is betting that a free, accessible program can move more people from vague intention to concrete action, especially when the information is presented in plain English and paired with downloadable guides.
The broader implication is simple enough: when people understand the basic pieces, they are more likely to complete the paperwork, revisit it when life changes and make decisions that reflect both family needs and personal values.