How Often Should an Estate Plan be Reviewed?

 

When you have an estate plan, nothing is set in stone if you do not want it to be. You can always choose to make adjustments to your estate plan at a later time. You may need to make adjustments to the plan for several reasons. Changes are often made to these plans months or even years after they are created; it is necessary to review your estate plan every so often to keep it up-to-date with the latest details.

 

When to Review Your Estate Plan

It is often recommended to review an estate plan at least once every three years because a lot can happen over that timeframe. However, you can review your estate plan more often than that. Some people to review their plan once a year, while others like to review it after each quarter. You can decide on the frequency based on your personal situation and how often changes occur in your life, including the birth of a new child.

When you want to review your estate plan, you can simply let your estate lawyer know. Your lawyer will have you come into the office to carefully review the plan and make changes as you see fit. You can change your plan as much as you want to. Most people will update their estate plans every so often.

 

Why is it Important to Review Your Estate Plan?

Reviewing the estate plan is important because your life changes at random and you never know when a new event will occur. If you decide to end your marriage and get divorced, you may want to remove your ex from your estate plan. If you end up getting married to someone new, you would want to have that person added to your plan over time. When you continue to have children, you do want to make sure you are adding each one of them to your plan because you would never want one of your children to feel like he or she was being left out of your estate.

Some people simply have a change of heart and decide to make some major changes to their estate plan. Because tons of different things can happen in life and new milestones are often achieved, it is normal for someone to want to edit an estate plan that was initially created when he or she was a lot younger.

If you have an estate plan, you should have it reviewed at least once every three years. However, you can review it as often as you want to. Reviewing the estate plan is essential because different changes will occur throughout your lifetime and you want your plan to reflect those changes, whether you are getting divorced, marrying someone new, or having more children. When you would like to check things out and possibly make changes, you need an expert attorney to assist you. At Giro Law, we are fully prepared to go over your estate plan and revise it to your liking when you want us to do so. You can reach out to us at 201-690-1642 to schedule your appointment.