HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO UPDATE MY WILL?

Many people ask how often they should update their estate plan. Washington State University did a study in 1999 that revealed the average time between updates to a Will is 19.7 years. This makes sense considering most people do a Will when their first child is born and then review it some 20 years later when little Johnny is off to college and they have an option for early retirement. But is this sufficient? Well usually not. In the timeframe of those 20 years, the laws are constantly changing.

In addition, families change, finances change, and even your health changes. Each of these changes impacts your estate plan. In many cases, we review Wills involving bequests to individuals that are no longer alive, or do not provide for children born subsequent to the execution of the Will. IAlso, most individuals lack critical estate planning documents such as a Healthcare Proxy, Living Will, and Power of Attorney. In some instances, even a Living Trust might be advantageous to meet and accomplish individual goals.

Other issues that change that may require you to update your plan are the laws. In fact, the estate tax law has changed six times in the last ten years. These changes could adversely impact your family if you do not monitor them to ensure your plan avoids any adverse consequences from the change. In addition, changes to your family including the birth, death, marriage, or divorce of anyone in your plan, could also impact its effectiveness.

Your health plays a key role and we often find, after a family crisis, perspectives change considerably, which may create a need to update your plan. Most importantly, you do not want to wait for a crisis to update your plan. In most crisis situations, such as being diagnosed with a terminal condition or other serious health matters, individuals are not thinking of their estate plan, but rather are thinking of getting better. It is critical to revisit your estate plan before a crisis to ensure you have the proper legal protections in place to handle your affairs if you are unable.

A proper estate plan will ensure what you have gets to whom you want, when you want, the way you want. How often should you update your Will? You should at least review it annually and then decide whether you need to seek professional help to get it updated.