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Tim Alles
Jordan Bush
Chris Shourds
Previous Newsletters
April 2021 Does My Estate Plan Have An Elephant In The Room? (Part I)
March 2021 How Can I "Trust" My Trustees?
February 2021 What Do Tiger Woods' Tweets, and Your Social Media Content
Have to Do with Estate Planning? (Part II)
January 2021 What Do Tiger Woods' Tweets, and Your Social Media Content
Have to Do with Estate Planning? (Part I)
December 2020 What Are Estate Taxes And Why Do They Matter?
November 2020 What Life Events Should Trigger an Estate Plan Review?
October 2020 My Child Is A Spendthrift. What Can I Do To Protect Their Inheritance?
September 2020 What Is the Difference Between Estate Planning and Elder Law?
August 2020 Estate Planning After a Divorce - What Does It Mean for Your Estate Plan?
July 2020 What Should You Expect From Your Trustee?
June 2020 Should You Pass Your Assets Through A Trust Or A Will?
May 2020 Important Issues To Consider For Your Estate Plan
April 2020 Important Estate Planning Considerations During a Pandemic Crisis
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What Life Events Should Trigger an Estate Plan Review?
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You have an estate plan in place, so your property and
family are protected, right? Not exactly. Sudden, and even planned, life events
commonly result in a situation where your estate plan may not meet your
intentions when you pass away. It is
important to review your estate plan periodically, and, especially, after
certain “trigger” events happen in your life.
Why is an Estate Plan Important?
A comprehensive estate plan is an essential
part of protecting your assets and providing for future generations. It’s
important to understand, however, that it’s not enough to simply create an
estate plan and forget about it. Your estate plan needs to change and evolve
over the years. Life changes, so your estate plan needs to change along with it.
What are some significant life events that should trigger a review of my estate
plan?
Marriage
Marriage can change every aspect of your life. It’s important to remember
that marrying someone is as much a financial union as a personal one. Once you are married, most of the assets
that you accumulate are both of yours, and your spouse is entitled to a
percentage of your estate in the absence of other arrangements. If you have
children from a previous relationship (or your spouse has children of his or her
own), you need to account for that in your estate plan.
Divorce
It is also
important to review your plan after a divorce. State
laws might prevent your ex-spouse from inheriting under a will or trust; but
they still might be listed as a beneficiary on certain accounts, or as your
power of attorney, so you want to update these documents. If you have a joint
trust, you will need to review whether to revoke that trust and create a new
one.
Birth of a Child
The birth of a
child is another event that should trigger a review of your existing estate
plan. Children are entitled to inherit
under state law. However, many parents would like to ensure that their children
receive more than they would under a statute. In
addition, state law will not ensure that your children inherit trust property.
Your trust documents will need to be
updated to reflect how you want assets to be distributed to your children.
Finally, you can use a last will and
testament to name a preferred guardian. This is critical, should a tragedy
occur, where both parents are unable to care for a child.
Unexpected Crises
We can never
predict the future. This is especially true right now, as we are all living
through the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the future is uncertain in many ways.
The worry of becoming physically ill with
the virus, as well as the possibility that you or a loved one could become
emotionally ill, weighs heavily on our minds. Once you are in the hospital, or
under psychological care, you may not have the opportunity to update your estate
plan or ensure you have the right power of attorney, and that your wishes are
met.
For these varied reasons, it is a good time
to review your estate plan and make sure it is updated.
Most estate planning attorneys are
working remotely to help people create and review estate plans, so you can rest
assured that you and your family will be protected.
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