Estate plans like everything else in life needs to be renewed on a yearly basis. The fact that you had it done at all does not mean you should lock it up in the safe to gather dust. Every day there are changes in your life from personal circumstances, finance, health, and business dealings of great importance. These changes inadvertently could make your last estate plan obsolete, and there is the need for new plans to prevent unforeseen crises from posing greater burdens to your family.
Your estate planning will improve on the last draft and take care of any infraction of the law in case there have been changes in the law upon which the old Wills was made. The following outline the reasons you need to update your estate plan in the New Year.
Changes in Tax Laws
The law of the land is what gives Wills its legal teeth. If your estate plans run contrary to provisions of the law, it may become a burden to your family after you are gone. Engaging in estate planning update helps to bring your current wills under the prevailing law.
Divorce and Marriage
The last estate plans you did, you were in a marriage, but you just divorced and to leave the Wills in favor of your ex-partner will cause problems for your survivors when you are gone. Updating it now will replace it with the right beneficiary.
Changes in the Size of Your Estate
We grow older every day; your asset may increase or reduce as the case may be. Whatever is the situation, estate planning will add the correct asset value in your estate to make life a peaceful one for your family after your departure.
Acquisition or Disposition of an Asset
When you change the physical structure of your asset whether by acquiring more assets or you dispose of some assets, it is expedient to update your estate so you can factor in the new reality into your Wills.
Change in trustee, guardians or personal representatives. Wills are drafted to settle our estate most amicably after we departed; at the time of the last draft, your baby had a Guardian whose name appeared in the Will, but that has changed to a new person. A new estate planning will take care of the changes in the name of the guardian or representative.
New Thinking
We all seem to get better with the passage of time; this may be enough reasons to have a rethinking on some issues which may necessitate a change in your estate document.
New Rules Surrounding POA Rules
Some financial and health institutions have laws that may cause them to refuse Power of attorney if its older than certain age (a year or two), updating your estate planning will make your current Wills fresh, new, and current to make your Wills acceptable.
A yearly update of your estate plans makes it current and agrees with your life at the moment. Your survivors will have no problem executing your wills after you are gone without constituting a burden to your loved ones.
Learn more about attorney Sean J. Nichols and the legal services he provides for clients including: estate planning, elder law issues, Medicaid planning, elder care, probate law, guardianships, and power of attorney (POA) at www.seanjnichols.com. To contact the offices of Sean J Nichols call 734.386.0224 today.