You should review your estate plan anytime something significant changes that could have an impact on your plans. That means that you should be reviewing it now.
Some things do get better with age. However, unlike fine wine and good cheese, estate plans do not improve after aging.
An estate plan can be viewed as a snapshot of a person’s financial and life situation at the moment the plan is made. When something changes in a person’s financial or life situation the snapshot is no longer an accurate representation. If the change was significant enough, then the estate plan itself could be ineffective.
For this reason, estate planning attorneys suggest that their clients review their estate plans every few years to make sure the plans are still good. Another reason to review estate plans is when there have been legal changes that could affect the plans.
Recent Treasury Department regulatory changes make it likely that your plan needs review as Wealth Management points out in “Remind Clients Importance of Updating Estate Plans.”
Take some time to review your estate plan.
Make sure that it still does everything that you want it to do. Ask yourself if there have been any changes to your life and finances that are not reflected in your plan. Then, call your estate planning attorney and ask about any legal changes that have been enacted since you made your estate plan.
Once you are done with that and have an idea what needs to be changed in your estate plan, go to and have the changes made by your attorney.
Reference: Wealth Management (Nov. 21, 2016) “Remind Clients Importance of Updating Estate Plans.”
