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When to review an estate plan

On Behalf of | Jan 23, 2024 | Estate Planning

Your estate plan doesn’t have to be updated every time you review it. But it is important to carry out periodic reviews so that you can check and see if these updates are necessary. The last thing you want is to pass away with an outdated plan that causes disputes for your family members.

One way to do this is to set up a schedule in advance. Maybe you just want to review the plan every January. Maybe you want to look at it every other year or every three years. But your plan could still get outdated even when using this tactic, so it may be better to conduct reviews when major events happen.

What major events necessitate a review?

Anything substantial enough to alter your estate in some way means that it’s time to review your estate plan. Examples include:

  1. The birth or death of a beneficiary
  2. Getting married or getting divorced
  3. Witnessing the marriage or divorce of a direct descendent, such as an adult child
  4. Being diagnosed with a serious disease
  5. Selling a significant asset
  6. Acquiring major assets, like getting an inheritance or winning the lottery
  7. Selling a family business

These are the types of events that either change the makeup of your family, meaning you have to redetermine how you want to distribute your assets, or that change the makeup of your estate and your assets themselves.

Either way, that means it is time to review the plan and consider potential changes. Be sure you know exactly what legal steps to take as you work your way through this process and create the ideal estate plan for your family.

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