Estate planning strategies are real and alive creations. However, they do not update themselves. In your own life, children a born and go to college, family members prove themselves trustworthy or untrustworthy, you change jobs, and individuals come and go in your life Estate plans are living, breathing creations. And of course, none of us live in a vacuum. Laws change, as do economics and financial planning strategies. All of these changes can make your estate plan outdated an obsolete.
Stress Test Questions for Your Estate Plan
To help you get an idea of whether you need to meet with an estate planning attorney to update your estate plan, ask yourself the following questions:
- How long has it been since you updated your will or trust? Since the last time that you updated your plan, have you had new children or gotten divorced? Have you sold your house? Have you started a new business? Has your mentality changed with how you want to distribute your wealth? If you have had large life events, you may want to consider updating your estate plan.
- Who is your trustee or executor? Do you still want them to serve in those capacities? If not, you may want to change your estate plan.
- Do you have enough insurance? This does require some work, but you need to figure out if you have enough insurance to take care of your loved ones after you pass away with enough income for enough time. Who are the beneficiaries of your insurance? Do you have alternate beneficiaries?
- How much of your property do you own jointly with your spouse? There may be unseen negative consequences of jointly-owned property. You should review your real property to find out how you own it and see if you need to make any changes to your ownership of property.
- How well do you keep your personal records? If you pass away, how organized your papers are will determine how easy it is to administer your property after you pass.
- How long ago did you even look at your estate plan? It is not only large issues that make it necessary to update your estate plan, but smaller issues as well. An estate planning attorney can help you identify if your estate plan needs to be updated or not.
Final Thoughts
Your estate plan is an investment in your future, and you need to understand your estate plan and know what it actually says for it to do what you want it to do.