Know when you should review your estate plan

Creating your estate plan is an important step for an adult to take, but it isn’t one that you can take care of and then forget about. It’s imperative that you periodically review your estate plan to determine whether it still meets your needs.

The majority of estate plan changes stem from major life changes. Even if you don’t have any of those, you should still take the time to review the plan every couple of years. Be sure you check the plan if any of these occur:

• You have a new child or grandchild
• Your children become adults
• You acquire or get rid of assets
• The value of your estate increases considerably
• Tax liabilities for the estate change
• Someone named in the estate plan passes away
• You get married or divorced
• Your wishes change
• Laws that pertain to your estate change
• A person in the estate plan needs to be removed

Remember that the estate plan modifications don’t have to do only with who gets what. You also need to review the power of attorney and administrator designations. Double-check the information in your living will to determine if you need to add or remove anything from the terms of your medical care instructions. 

Taking the time to review your estate plan when its necessary can give you peace of mind. If you notice anything that needs to be changed, discuss the modifications with your attorney to determine what you need to do. The sooner you do this, the better since you don’t know if or when you may become incapacitated.