Is it Time to Update Your Estate Plan?
We recommend updating your estate plan every three years and reviewing what you have in place once a year. This is easier said than done as it isn’t something that’s always on the top of your mind. At Lexern Law Group, we help our clients with reminders to think about any updates and we do our best to keep in touch, but there are some instances when you should update your plan right away.
You Should Update Your Estate Plan When:
- You get married or divorced.
- You have a child or grandchild.
- Changing beneficiaries (due to divorce, birth, death, change-of-heart, etc.).
- Starting a new business.
- A move out of state.
- Bought or sold property (personal or investment).
These are all big life changes that warrant a change to your plan. But you may not need to have a huge life change to rework things. Maybe you’ve changed your mind about your end of life wishes, or you want someone different to be your power of attorney than who was originally appointed.
Don’t forget to visit your plan periodically to make sure it’s updated with your wishes.
Keep Your Wealth Inventory Updated
A wealth inventory is a document with all your assets listed and how they can be accessed. This is an important part of your estate plan as your successors will need this information to adequately distribute your assets when the time comes and execute your plan as you have wished.
Along with updating any wishes for your estate plan like listed above, don’t forget to update this document as needed. Maybe you’ve opened a new investment account or bought a new car, keep any changes like this and the necessary information documented to make any transitions easy for your family members.
If you have social media accounts that you want to be closed upon your death, you must leave instructions and access information to do that.
Do you own bitcoin or other “electronic currencies,” you must provide information as to how to access it. If your password is lost or stolen upon your death, there is no way to recover it.
If you ever have questions about needing a change to your plan, or if you need to update your estate plan please contact us!
Disclaimer: This article is intended to serve as a general summary of the issues outlined therein. While this article may include general guidance, it is not intended as, nor is a substitute for, qualified legal advice. Your review or receipt of this article by Lexern Law Offices, Ltd. (the “LLG”) or any of its attorneys does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the LLG. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors of the article and does not reflect the opinion of the LLG