Does Your Estate Plan Need Updating?

How long has it been since you reviewed your Will, Trust, Durable Power of Attorney or Advance Health Care Directive?

If any of the following events have occurred since your estate plan was completed, you should review your estate planning documents to ensure that they accurately reflect your current goals. Depending upon the nature of the event, you may wish to amend or revise your estate planning documents.

CHANGES IN FAMILY SITUATION:

• Changes in health, marital status or relationship
  • Marriage, registration as domestic partners, divorce or separation
  • Illness, disability, incapacity or death of your spouse or life partner
  • Your own illness or disability
• Changes regarding a child, grandchild or other beneficiary
  • Birth or adoption of a child/grandchild
  • Illness, disability, incapacity or death of a child/grandchild/beneficiary
  • A beneficiary or family member’s attitude change towards you
  • A change in your relationship with a beneficiary or their spouse
  • Changes in a beneficiary’s marital status
  • Changes in distribution plan for any beneficiary
  • Changes in financial needs of any beneficiary (significant increase or decrease in financial wealth, financial irresponsibility, creditor problems, bankruptcy, etc.)

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:

• Illness/disability/incapacity/death of any person named in your Will, Trust,    or other documents, as executor, trustee, conservator, attorney-in-fact, guardian or beneficiary
• Change of permanent residence to a different state or country
• Change of citizenship status.
• If you have transferred property into an entity, including a trust, there may be title insurance issues.

CHANGES IN YOUR ECONOMIC CONDITION:

• Asset values—if your assets significantly increase or decrease
• Ownership of personal or real property located outside of California
• Ownership of personal or real property located outside of the United States
• Ownership interests in partnerships or other entities (LLCs, S-Corps, etc.)
• Creditor problems, bankruptcy?

You should also consider the potential effect of these new developments on the beneficiary designations for your insurance policies and retirement accounts.

This is not an all-inclusive list. Every few years you should review your estate plan and estate planning documents in light of your circumstances at that time. Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can be of assistance.