Creating an estate plan provides a way to put important decisions in writing, from who should receive certain property to who can manage financial or health care matters when necessary. However, five or ten years later, those same instructions may no longer accurately reflect someone’s wishes and/or circumstances.
Estate planning documents should be reviewed and updated as circumstances evolve. The need for some changes may be obvious, while others may not be apparent until a skilled legal team clarifies procedure, updates to the law or the stakes at issue.
When it may be time to revisit your estate plan
Several key signs may indicate that it is time to revisit an existing plan:
- Your family circumstances have changed: Marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child and the death of a family member can significantly affect an estate plan.
- Your financial situation is substantially different: Buying or selling real estate, receiving an inheritance, opening a business or accumulating significant investments can change what an estate plan needs to accomplish.
- Your beneficiary designations may be outdated: Retirement accounts, life insurance policies and certain financial accounts can pass according to beneficiary designations. Reviewing them alongside the rest of the estate plan can help identify inconsistencies that could lead to unintended distributions.
- The people named in your documents are no longer appropriate choices: Estate plans frequently appoint people to administer an estate, manage a trust or make important decisions during incapacity. Over time, a chosen person may die, experience health problems, relocate or become unwilling to serve. Personal relationships may also change.
- You have moved to another state: Estate planning laws vary among states. After a permanent relocation, it can be useful to have existing wills, trusts, powers of attorney and health care documents reviewed under the laws of the new state.
- Your health or long-term care needs have changed: A serious diagnosis or declining health can make previously signed documents worth reconsidering.
A periodic review can reveal impractical appointments and provisions that may no longer accomplish their intended purpose. A legal team can assist with appropriate revisions so that your plan continually reflects your current intentions.
