Why You Should Review Your Estate Plan

If you already have an estate plan in place, congratulations as you are in the minority of the population.  When was the last time you reviewed that estate plan?  For many individuals, they created an estate plan when they had children or at a certain time in their life that caused them to want to have a plan put in place such as a death in the family.  While it is great that you at one time created the estate plan, changes in your life since you created that estate plan could cause that once well-thought-out plan to have different consequences from what your current intentions are. 

First, many life events warrant a review of your estate plan.  This could be a death, divorce, marriage, the birth of a child(ren), grandchildren or changes to the contents of your estate.  Any of these items could cause you to want to name different individuals from those you may have named as beneficiaries, guardian, executor, trustee or power of attorney.  

Second, changes to state and federal laws.  The most obvious change is the increase in the federal estate-tax exemption.  Whereas 20 years ago, the estate tax exemption was around $600,000 before an estate was taxed, today, the estate tax exemption is $11.4 million.  Therefore, you may have made certain provisions in your estate planning documents to avoid estate taxes but those provisions may no longer be necessary.  For some, state estate tax limits might be more of a concern than the federal exemption.  The power of attorney forms are also usually updated by each state every few years to incorporate changes in the statutes.  It is best to update your property and health care power of attorney every 3 to 5 years to utilize the newest forms.

Finally, do you know where your documents are?  Depending on the time that has passed since you originally executed your estate plan, the attorney who assisted you with your estate plan may have retired, changed firms or passed away.  Many times the original documents are held by the attorney and if you are not able to track the attorney down, those documents might be lost. 

The good news is that many changes people make to their estate plans can be done with simple amendments or updated statutory forms.  If you have already gone through the heavy lifting of preparing an estate plan, the updates can be a lot less time-consuming. 

If you have questions regarding your estate plan, please feel free to contact Glick and Trostin, LLC at 312-346-8258.

Disclaimer: The materials on this website are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between any attorney and any other person, group or entity. No representations or warranties whatsoever, express or implied are given as to the accuracy or applicability of the information contained herein. No one should rely upon the information contained herein as constituting legal advice. The information may be modified or rendered incorrect by future legislative or judicial developments and may not be applicable to any individual reader's facts and circumstances.