When Should You Update Your Estate Plan?

When Should You Update Your Estate Plan?- Almost everyone who completes an estate plan says they feel a great peace of mind knowing they have accomplished this. However, estate plans need to be periodically reviewed to reflect the changes and events of life. According to a recent article from Florida Today, “Life can change on a dime. Here’s how to tell if it’s time to change your estate plan,” certain major life events are the most common reasons to update an estate plan.

Known as “trigger events,” these include marriage, divorce, birth or adoption, death of a loved one, moving to a new state and retirement. If someone named in an estate plan to act as executor, trustee, or guardian dies, those roles must be filled promptly, and the documents must be updated accordingly.

Updating beneficiary designations is all too often overlooked. Beneficiary designations on life insurance policies, retirement accounts and Payable On Death (POD) accounts override any provisions in a will or trust. If you don’t update beneficiary designations, someone you love may end up with nothing, while someone you once loved could receive an unexpected and generous gift. Review these designations to be sure that they reflect your current wishes, not your past loves.

Laws change, both on a state and federal level. While you may be following the headlines to learn what changes are coming to the estate tax from Washington, your own state might make changes to how property is transferred. A change to the law could undo your estate plan’s intentions. Your estate planning attorney monitors local, state and federal changes to laws impacting tax and inheritance. Contact us with your concerns and understand that you may need to make adjustments to ensure that your wishes are followed.

Financial situations change, for good or bad. If you’ve bought real estate, invested in a business, or purchased cryptocurrency, all these need to be addressed by your estate plan. If you’ve declared bankruptcy or have been hit with large medical debts, your estate plan may need to be adjusted. The same goes for charitable giving goals. If you have a change of heart about a charity you used to support and want another charity to benefit from your generosity, you’ll need to put this change on paper.

Children grow up, even though it may not seem like this will ever happen when they are young. When they reach adulthood and the necessary level of maturity, you may want to name them as executors, trustees, or healthcare surrogates in place of other family members. This is also a good time to review trusts that contain provisions regarding specific milestones.

An estate plan includes protecting your health and well-being. It’s advisable to make sure that your estate planning documents are ready for any eventuality, especially if you haven’t reviewed them in a long time. This includes Power of Attorney, healthcare directives, living wills, HIPAA release forms and other relevant documents. Medicaid planning is something to discuss with your attorney as part of planning for long-term care.

If it’s been more than three years since your estate plan was reviewed, even if nothing in your life has changed, it’s a good idea to review your estate plan. Even minor discrepancies or changes can have significant impacts. Regular reviews help to identify any gaps, ensure that the estate plan works with current law and reflect changes to financial status and relationships.

When Should You Update Your Estate Plan?

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Reference: Florida Today (May 31, 2025) “Life can change on a dime. Here’s how to tell if it’s time to change your estate plan”