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There is no specific timeframe where you need to update your estate documents. Many times, you can go many years without needing to update your wills, trusts, or power of attorney documents.
However, there are many parts of your estate plan that you will want to review regularly to ensure that your current set of documents are able to meet your wishes.
Below are a few of the common instances we find in our regular Estate Plan Reviews with clients.
First, you’ll want to review beneficiaries that are listed in your documents. Has anyone died, become divorced, become unable to handle their own finances? Are there any births you need to factor in for beneficiaries, like new grandchildren?
It is also important to review beneficiary designation on your investment accounts, bank accounts, and other assets in addition to your will or trust.
You should also review who is listed as the trustee and executor in your documents. Are these people still able to function in this role? Is your estate situation simple enough for them to handle on their own, or will it be too much of a burden for them to handle?
Have you bought or sold a second residence, or do you own a residence in more than two states now? Adding additional property can be a reason you’ll want a more advanced estate plan done, such as a trust.
As you review your documents, you should consider if there are any federal or state law changes, like the estate tax exemption, that you need to review. Or, for how you handle your assets in the estate?
New legislation comes around regularly that could impact your estate plan. More recently, the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, and the SECURE Act, both resulted in the need for some to significantly change their estate plan.
Have your assets dramatically increased since you created your estate documents or set your beneficiaries? If so it may be time to review adding charities to your estate, or using a trust to slow the inheritance of money to your heirs.
Changes in interest rates, or stock market returns, can impact the income received by various charitable trusts and may make those options more attractive to you.
Do you need a plan for digital assets like email accounts, social media, and online accounts? Providing access to online accounts is a very common neglected item in an estate plan.
Think about where your important pictures, documents, emails, or other electronic records are stored and make sure they can be accessed.
We also have webinars on several of these topics if you are looking for more details:
Creating a Charitable Giving Plan
Steps to Create and Maintain an Estate Plan – Wills, Trusts, and POAs