Is It Time To Review Your Estate Planning?

Estate planning is an important process to protect your assets, your loved ones and your legacy. However, completing the initial documentation is not the end of the process. Regular review and updating of your estate plan is essential to ensure that the plan takes into account changes in your personal and financial circumstances that occur over time. In particular, the failure to vest ownership of assets acquired after the initial plan may require those assets to be subject to probate proceedings which can be both time-consuming and costly.

Family changes are a key trigger for review of your estate plan:

• Marriage or divorce alter your legal relationships and may impact how ownership of your assets is to be held, and the designation of beneficiaries and agents under powers of attorney and advance health care directives.
• Birth or adoption of a child not only implicates your beneficiaries but also triggers the need to name guardians for minor children.
• Death or other changes in relationships with previously named beneficiaries, trustees and executors may require the appointment or designation of new individuals in your estate plan.

Changes in financial circumstances are another trigger for review:

• An inheritance or other significant acquisition of assets needs to be integrated in your estate plan (typically by vesting ownership of the assets in your trust) or those assets may be subject to probate proceedings upon your death. In addition, the potential estate tax exposure from those assets must be considered.
• Starting a new business introduces new assets to be addressed in the plan, as well as consideration of business succession planning.
• Sale of significant assets may trigger consideration of how the sale proceeds are to be integrated into the plan.

Changes in applicable law may impact your estate plan:

• California law regarding probate proceedings, trusts and estate planning can change over time and those changes may need to be reflected in amendments of your estate planning documents.
• In addition, changes in federal tax law may shift how your estate may be taxed or administered.

Changes to personal goals may also trigger a review of your estate plan:

• Your intentions for the transfer of your assets and the provision for your dependents may evolve over time.
• New people or charities may be identified as potential beneficiaries.

An estate plan is not a static document and needs to be realigned from time to time to take into account your changing personal circumstances, current preferences, and changes in applicable law. By undertaking such periodic reviews, you can assure that your wishes will be honored and disputes or legal challenges will be minimized. If you have experienced any of the above triggering events or if it has just been a few years since you have reviewed your estate plan, the estate planning attorneys at Poole Shaffery would be happy to revisit your estate plan with you and to update your documentation as may be necessary or appropriate.