When Should I Revise My Estate Plan?

Video

Hi folks, it’s Andy Stautz at Stautz Law. I’m back with another talk on estate planning topics and today’s topic is when to revise your estate plan, or “when should I revise my estate plan?”  

You know, there’s no expiration date on your estate plan documents. Once you get them. But. Big events in your life should probably affect how you’re planning about your property and and your healthcare decisions also  

In general, let’s divide this into three  categories. We’ve got family events, we’ve got property events, and we’ve got just time.  

So. Family events: If you get married, if you get divorced, if you have children, especially for the first time, but also subsequent children. UM. You know your if your parents. If your parents pass. Especially, you know, especially if you’re younger. All of those family events can, can and should prompt you to think about your estate plan again. And that doesn’t necessarily mean making an appointment with your estate planning attorney. It just means think about it: “OK. I just had a kid, you know. Does that mean it’s time to, uh, set up a revocable trust? In case something happens to us during what you know, wow, your son or daughter is under 18.” Yeah, maybe. Right?  

Marriage for sure. Because your spouse instantly becomes number one in the eyes of the law in terms of your, your property and your healthcare decisions. So. That could be good. That can be bad, but it’s something to think about. Same thing with divorce. (I’m going to make a separate talk about that because it’s its own, you know, it’s complicated enough.) 

So all of those. Events something big happens in your life. Great. Congratulations. (Probably, or sorry, the case may be.) But you know, when something happens, it’s it’s time to stop, reflect, take stock. You know, hopefully you’re doing that emotionally anyway. But you know you can do it emotionally and also think about it. Think about your legal needs too. UM. You know, I’m a lawyer. Of course I say that. So that’s one category.  

The other would be property events, so. If something in your. Assets changes big time. That’s probably time to just check up on your estate plan and make sure it’s it’s covered. So buying or selling a house. Uh. Inheriting a big sum of money. Coming into a business interest that you didn’t have before. UM. You know, even things like appreciation of your preexisting assets might be enough. Where you know if you’re young, you don’t have much. You’ve got a basic estate plan. It’s like, OK, well, now that I’ve got, you know, $1,000,000 in my retirement account, Do I need a different plan? And again the answer might be no. But it’s worth, it’s worth thinking about and you know, come in for a planning meeting or a revision meeting. I’m certainly willing to do that for my clients. Other other attorneys are too, I’m sure. So that’s kind of property events.  

The other is lapse of time. So even if nothing’s happening in your life, you’re just cruising along. Everything’s good. You’re just enjoying your days. You know, every every five years, every 10 years. Yes. Check in because the law might have changed. You might have changed, right? Your priorities in terms of what you’re trying to do.  

It’s such an uphill battle, I think, to get people to think about estate planning for the first time. Umm. Because it’s tough conversations, it’s tough topics. But once you’ve got the documents, once you’re ready, you’ve got a plan. It doesn’t stop there. Hopefully it’s a little less of an ask, going forward, to revisit them and make sure the plan still works for you. 

Kind of recapture those feelings. Remember how good you felt the day you finally got your plan in place? it’s like OK. Well, you know. Come back to it to make sure it still works as your life changes.  

And just, personally, as a lawyer is my favorite part of my practice. Is hearing about clients’ lives and what they’ve done with themselves and what their goals are. So hopefully it’s a good conversation to have.  

Now you know some of the big trigger points. And so if you’ve had any of those recently schedule a call or just you know sit down and think about it. You know, make sure you’re in a good spot. So my contact information here at the end of the video, you can always book online or give me a call. And I’d love to talk to you. Thanks. Bye.