Reviewing Your Estate Plan: 12 Key Considerations

Estate planning is a crucial part of financial security, but it’s not a one-and-done process. As life changes, so should your estate documents. Reviewing your estate plan every five years—or sooner if major life events occur—can help ensure everything remains aligned with your wishes. Here are 12 important areas to evaluate when updating your estate documents.

Essential Estate Planning Documents

1. Do you have a will and powers of attorney?
   A complete estate plan includes a will and powers of attorney for health care and property. A health-care power of attorney allows someone you trust to make medical decisions on your behalf if you’re incapacitated. A durable power of attorney for property enables an agent to handle financial matters, such as filing taxes and managing investments, when you are unable to do so. Ensure your health-care power includes HIPAA authorization, allowing doctors to share medical information with your designated representative.

2. Are your named individuals still the right choices?
   Review the people you’ve named as beneficiaries, executors, trustees, or guardians. Are they still living, and do they remain the best fit for their roles?

3. Do your personal property addendums exist and reflect your wishes?
   Many wills mention addendums specifying who should receive personal property, but these documents sometimes go missing or were never created. Ensure they are up to date.

4. Have you moved to a new state?
   Estate laws vary by state. If you’ve relocated since creating your estate documents, consult a local estate attorney to make any necessary adjustments.

Trusts, Taxes, and Financial Considerations

5. Do you still need your trust as written?
   If you have an irrevocable trust but are unhappy with its terms, some states allow you to “decant” it, transferring assets into a new trust with updated provisions. Additionally, reconsider whether assets held in a living trust should remain there, or if shifting them to an individual name might provide better tax advantages.

6. Are life insurance policies and trusts still necessary?
   If you have an irrevocable life insurance trust, evaluate whether it still serves a purpose given today’s higher estate tax exemption thresholds. Also, check if your life insurance policy expiration aligns with your financial goals.

7. Have your children outgrown the terms of a children’s trust?
   If your will includes a trust directing assets for children’s education, home purchases, or weddings, and your children are now older, you may no longer need these provisions.

8. Are there risks to your children’s inheritance, such as divorce?
   Consider establishing a trust to protect assets from division in a child’s divorce or other financial risks.

9. Do any of your heirs have special needs?
   Standard estate documents may not adequately provide for a special needs heir. Work with a financial advisor and attorney experienced in special needs planning.

Beneficiaries and Asset Distribution

10. Are your beneficiary designations still accurate?
    Review all brokerage accounts, insurance policies, and retirement plans to ensure named beneficiaries align with your intentions.

11. How will assets be distributed if a beneficiary passes away first?
    Many financial firms default to splitting the deceased beneficiary’s share among the remaining beneficiaries. If you prefer assets to pass to the deceased beneficiary’s children (per stirpes), you must specify this.

12. Do your heirs know how to access key information?
    Ensure a trusted individual knows where to find critical documents, including digital account passwords, to avoid complications in asset distribution.

Final Thoughts

An up-to-date estate plan ensures your assets are distributed according to your wishes and minimizes legal complications for your loved ones. Consulting an estate attorney and financial advisor can help you navigate these considerations and create a plan that evolves with your life circumstances.

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