Estate Plan Check-Up 6: Is Your Estate Plan Current?

By Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss, LL.M, CELA and Crystal West Edwards, Esq., CELA

A question we often get is, if I do a will today, does it mean that I'm going to have to redo it 10 years from now? How often do I have to look at my estate plan?

You don’t have to do anything, of course. But there are good reasons to revisit your estate plan documents every few years.

Life happens and circumstances change. People move, get married, divorced, have children, and adopt children. Children grow up, go off to college, leave the nest. They have babies of their own – or not.

Your Will and Changing Life Circumstances

As your life circumstances change, it’s important to look at your estate planning documents and see whether or not your desires with respect to your estate have changed.

Example. At one point in time, someone may say in their will that they want their investment account to pass to their niece. However, by the time they pass away, there are five nieces. If their will has not been updated to reflect this fact, there’s some ambiguity about their wishes. Did they want to provide for just one niece or to provide for the five?

Someone to Act for You When You No Longer Can Act For Yourself

It’s especially important that you have appointed someone to make your financial and medical decisions for you by way of a power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney – in the event you are no longer able to make them yourself. And by reviewing your documents, you can make sure that the people you have named are still available and willing to serve in those roles. (We also recommend reaching out, periodically, to the people you have named in your documents – just to make sure they are still available and willing to serve in those roles.)

In sum, your estate planning documents represent a moment in time. An analogy we sometimes use is that of a coat, which you bought 15 years ago. It was hot pink, and it was all the way down to the ground. Would it still keep you warm today? Yes, absolutely. The function is still there, but would you purchase a hot pink, full length coat today? Maybe, maybe not. Does it still fit? Maybe, maybe not.

Estate plans are like that, so it’s good to revisit them every few years and see what, if anything, needs to be updated or changed.

This post is for general informational purposes only. The information provided may or may not apply to you given the specifics of your situation. For a video presentation of this information, please visit Estate Plan Check-up. For more detailed information, please visit www.porzioplanning.com or contact us for a free 20 minute telephone consultation.