1. The Passage of Time
At the time of creating your estate plan, you made the best possible decisions on behalf of yourself and your loved ones. However, as time goes by, what once made sense may no longer suit you.
If possible, review your estate plan in its entirety every two to three years. Even if you assume that it’ll remain the same, it never hurts to take a closer look.
2. Divorce or Marriage
When you tie the knot or dissolve your marriage, it’ll impact your life in many ways. This includes your estate plan.
For example, there’s a good chance you were leaving everything to your spouse in the event of your death. You may have also named this person as your beneficiary of your life insurance policy.
But after divorce, it’s likely that you want to change these details.
Review your estate plan to ensure that it reflects your recent divorce or marriage.
3. The Death of a Loved One
When creating an estate plan, you may decide that you want everything to go to your spouse upon your death. This is easy enough, but things will change if your spouse passes on before you.
If a beneficiary passes away, review your estate plan to determine how it’ll affect it. You’ll need to make changes to ensure that this person is no longer in line to receive your assets upon your death.
4. Change in Your Financial Circumstances
Your financial circumstances will change as you age. Furthermore, you never know when something major could happen, such as winning the lottery or receiving an inheritance from a parent.
If there’s a major change in your financial circumstances, review your estate plan to better understand how it should change.
For assistance updating your estate plan, visit the website for Levine, Furman & Rubin at https://levinefurman.com or by calling our office at (732) 238-6000.
