It is our recommendation that estate plans be reviewed every 3-5 years, but why? There are a host of compelling reasons why periodic review is important. When you created your plan, you discussed your family and financial situation with your Brody Wilkinson attorney. You selected someone to serve as your executor, someone to act as trustee caring for your loved ones’ finances, and someone to raise your minor children. In short, your plan was representative of how life looked at the time the plan was created. 

Since life is dynamic, we encourage clients to review the plan summary and flowchart of their estate planning documents every 3-5 years and ask the following questions:

• Has your relationship with the people named as executor, trustee and guardian changed? Are they still the people you would want to care for your estate and your family?

• Has your financial situation changed since you signed the documents? Have you inherited money from a family member? Re-entered the workforce? Retired? Purchased a second home?

• Have your children’s lives changed? Have they gotten married or had children? Are you concerned about the possibility of divorce? Are they in a high-risk career with possibility of litigation? Can your plan help protect your child?

• Have the state or federal tax laws changed?

If the answer to any of the above is “yes,” now is the right time to review your plan. For more information, please contact Heather J. Lange (hlange@brodywilk.com).