When Is It Critical to Review Your Estate Plan and Why?

Like other important life tasks, your estate plan deserves your continued time and attention. We recommend that you work with us to review it every three to five years (or more frequently, depending on your circumstances). Think of it as your estate plan’s preventive check-up, and remember: prevention is the best cure.

A routine preventive check-up is not necessarily the only time we see a doctor. Similarly, a preventive planning meeting is not the only time to consider your estate plan. The occurrence of special life events may also mean that it is time to pick up the phone and call us.

If you experience any of these significant life events, contact us, and we will help ensure that your estate plan still reflects your goals and wishes.

Marriage

Have you recently gotten married? Congratulations! Marriage means new ways of sharing and managing finances and property. As a result, this is an important time to revisit your estate plan. With this life change, you will need to contact us to discuss any necessary changes to your will or trust, and financial and medical powers of attorney. You will also need to consider updates to your retirement account, life insurance, and investment account beneficiary designations. Updating your estate plan is especially important if it is a second marriage and children from a previous relationship are involved. Proper estate planning is the only way to ensure that you protect your loved ones the way you want.

Birth or Adoption

Welcoming a new child into the family is an unforgettable time. You may feel inspired to look toward the future, and you should! This is an opportune time to start planning how you would like to provide for your new family member’s future. Because the child is young, it is important to consider not only what you would like to leave them for an inheritance but also how you would like them to receive it and who you would like to manage it. And while no parent wants to think about who will raise their child if they are unable to, it is also important to decide who would step in as guardian to care for your child if something were to happen to you.

New Job

A new job presents an exciting new set of challenges and opportunities to explore. It also brings very real financial changes. You may be receiving new benefits that require new beneficiary designations. When filling out these forms, the beneficiaries must be named appropriately so that your estate plan will work as designed. In addition, you will need to make sure that your estate plan reflects the change in your financial status, whether it is a pay increase or a pay cut.

Loss of a Job

Similarly, leaving employment brings big changes to your financial situation and your estate plan. It is important to review your plan to determine whether updates are needed to reflect, for example, the loss of employer-provided benefits such as life insurance, any changes that need to be made to your retirement account, and whether any shift in your financial situation could impact your plan.

Retirement

Welcome to your golden years! Retirement brings lifestyle changes, more time for loved ones, and important financial transitions. We can help you update your estate plan now that you have stopped earning income and are beginning to use your retirement account. Also, with this newfound freedom, you may find yourself traveling more, making documents such as financial and medical powers of attorney more crucial.

Moved

If you have moved across state lines, you should consult with a local estate planning attorney to ensure that your estate planning documents are still legally valid and you are fully protected under the laws in your new state. Let us know your new location, and we may be able to recommend estate planning attorneys who can help you. If you have just moved to our state, we are happy to review your existing documents to determine if they comply with our state laws.

Regardless of where you moved from and moved to, a new home will need to be incorporated into your estate plan. If you contact us before the purchase, we can recommend how the deed should be drafted. If you have created a revocable living trust as the foundational tool in your estate plan, it may be best, depending on the situation, to have the home titled in the name of your trust. If you have already purchased your new home, we can file a new deed if needed to make sure the property is titled in a way that aligns with your estate plan.

Divorce

Experiencing a divorce is one of the most difficult times in a person’s life. But looking out for your financial well-being and planning for the future is critical. While your divorce is pending, you can meet with us to discuss what changes, if any, you are permitted to make to your estate plan. Once your divorce has been finalized, we can help you update your plan as needed or desired. This process may include revising your will or trust, changing beneficiary designations on certain accounts (such as life insurance or retirement accounts), and ensuring that your ex-spouse does not inherit from you or have the authority to make financial or medical decisions on your behalf should you be unable to do so yourself. If you have any life insurance requirements in your marital agreement to help satisfy a maintenance or child support obligation, we can also help incorporate them into your estate plan.

Death of a Loved One

There is so much to handle after the loss of a loved one. Take some time to be with those you care about and honor the life of the one you lost. When you are ready, remember that it is important to review your estate plan and consider whether any updates are needed. You may need to remove the deceased loved one as a beneficiary from any will, trust, life insurance policy, or retirement account, and determine who will receive that inheritance now. Reviewing your plan to identify whether your deceased loved one was appointed as one of your trusted decision makers (agent under a financial or medical power of attorney, successor trustee, or personal representative/executor) is important. If so, we can help you choose replacement decision makers and update your documents accordingly.

Received Inheritance

The death of a loved one not only brings grief and loss, but it may also result in receiving an inheritance. An inheritance can include property, money, real estate, and more. Receiving an inheritance may necessitate a change in your estate planning strategy. You may have a new account or property that needs to be retitled or a new beneficiary designation to incorporate into your plan. Also, depending on the value of the inheritance you have received, there may be additional estate tax, management, or asset protection concerns that we can address with you to make sure your inheritance is protected.

We Would Be Honored to Help

Whatever life brings you, we are here to help you weather the storms and celebrate the milestones. We would be honored to help you ensure that your estate plan is up to date to reflect these life changes. Even if no major events have occurred, reviewing your plan every three to five years is still a good idea. Call us today at (408) 371-6000!