When To Update An Estate Plan

Life is all about change. This is never more true than in relation to your estate plan.

When you created your estate plan, it was based on your situation at the time, the people in your life, your financial holdings, the law at the time, and some educated guesses about what and when things might happen. It is constant change that creates the necessity for periodically updating your plan. 

Creating an estate plan is not something that should be completed once and then left in a drawer never to be seen again. You should keep your plan up to date as the years pass, and your life, the people in it, and the laws around you change. 

Let’s compare an estate plan to a car; there are surprising similarities.

To begin, both need periodic maintenance to keep them working so that when we need them, they are there for us. Both need drivers to make them go. Drivers? Yes, in your estate plan the drivers are your helpers - trustee, executor, agent. And, both need gas to make them go. The gas in your trust is the assets.

Ensuring that you have the right plan (car), with appropriate drivers, and plenty of gas at all times will put you in a good position to ensure financial stability for your loved ones, reduce their emotional stress, and guarantee that your last wishes are respected.

When Do You Need To Update Your Estate Plan?

If you have experienced any of the following changes in your life, we recommend you update your estate plan as soon as possible:

• Purchased or sold any of your assets

• Changed your marital status (married, divorced, lost a spouse or loved one)

• Changes in your economic situation

• Retired from work

• Became a caregiver for your elderly parent or somebody with a disability or special needs

• You are facing the possibility of going into a nursing home or another form of long-term care

• Your health care directives were created prior to the HIPAA laws (2003)

• You have decided to change who is in charge of your medical, financial or final affairs 

• There have been changes to the laws

• There have been changes to your beneficiaries 



• There have been tax changes 

Common Reasons To Update An Estate Plan

• Any change to your marital status, whether you have gotten divorced, tied the knot, or lost a spouse, is an important reason to review and update your estate plan. 

• If you have welcomed a new baby into your home, it’s a good idea to add them to your estate plan to ensure they are taken care of in case the worst were to happen to you or your spouse. 

• If you’re thinking of adding or removing any of your beneficiaries, you will need to review your estate plan first to ensure that the changes to beneficiaries will not have a negative impact on your overall plan.

• Tax laws are constantly changing, which means you need to be ready to take these changes into account in your estate plan. 

If you already have an estate plan in place, it’s a good idea to update it every three to five years. 

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