Idaho Law Blog
The one thing that we can count on in our lives is that things will change. Given a few years our lives may look drastically different than they did before. This is normal, and natural, but when it comes to estate planning it can cause some problems. Here are 3 reasons why you should consider updating your estate planning.
1. PEOPLE CHANGE
The purpose of estate planning is to care for and provide for both yourself and your family members. An important part of estate planning or the people that you choose to involve either as fiduciaries or as beneficiaries. In other words you may be naming somebody to be your personal representative or who will hold a power of attorney for you, or who will receive a portion of your estate when you are gone.
It is inevitable that people will change. You will change. You may move to a new state. Individuals who you have listed in your current estate plan may have moved away. Or they may have passed away. Or they may have simply told you that they are no longer interested or willing to serve in the capacity that you named them in your estate planning. For these reasons it is always a good idea to review your estate plan yearly to determine if the plans you have in place will still work for you given the people who are involved. If the people that you had planned for changed then it is time to update to your estate plan.
2. CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE
With the passage of time circumstances can certainly change as well. You may now be in a position where since you have moved your plan for long-term health care has changed. Alternatively, you may find that your individual health has changed and that the original plan you had in place will no longer work for you individually. At the beginning of each new year it is wise to look at your estate plan and see if the circumstances in your life have changed enough to warrant a revision or update.
3. PROPERTY CHANGES
Finally, the property that you own may have changed. Maybe you once owned a home but sold it and put the money into savings and are now living in an apartment. Alternatively, perhaps your parents passed away and you inherited a home or some property. Your retirement accounts or investments may also have grown substantially since the last time you reviewed or updated your estate plan. You may find that the individuals you planned on giving your estate to no longer need your estate in their lives and you may have decided to give your estate to somebody else. Whatever the case may be each individual’s ownership of property is likely going to change over time. As a result, reviewing your estate plan at the beginning of each year is a great way of determining whether your property has changed and needs to be dealt with in a different way.
If you need help in reviewing or updating your estate plan, we can help. Call us toll free at 877-232-6101 or 208-232-6101 for a consultation with Lane Erickson and the Racine Olson team of Estate Planning attorneys in Idaho. You can also email Lane Erickson directly at lve@racinelaw.net. We will answer your Idaho Estate Planning questions and will help you solve your Idaho Estate Planning problems.
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