WHEN SHOULD I REVISE MY ESTATE PLAN?

Planning Tip: Like your car, your estate plan needs regular “servicing.” Set aside a specific time every year (your birthday, anniversary, family gathering) to review it with your estate planning attorney. Become familiar with it. Power Of Attorney Services can also help you keep your estate current so it will perform the way you want when you need it.

The following situations should trigger the need to seek immediate legal help to review or revise the family’s current estate and tax plan:

• Serious or life-threatening illness
• Illness or death of a spouse
• Contemplation of marriage, or remarriage
• Birth, death, or illness of a parent, sibling, child, or grandchild
• Disability of parent, sibling, child, grandchild, or a dependent or handicapped dependent that may require special considerations or a special needs trust
• Marriage or divorce of a child or grandchild
• Your chosen Health Care Agents can no longer serve
• The business has grown (or declined) significantly in the last few years
• Personal net worth has grown (or declined) significantly in the last few years.
• Your successor trustee, guardian, or administrator moves, becomes ill or changes mind
• Retirement
• Move to a new state
• Buy property in another state. You can use the terminal capitalization rate to determine the immediate profitability of an individual property.
• Estate Tax Law changes
• You change your mind

This list is not meant to be all-inclusive and only names some of the situations that may require revisions to an estate plan.

Experts like an estate attorney can provide asset protection, estate planning, and business planning services to individuals and families, organizations, and company owners. Educating the client and obtaining accurate information is a priority while providing excellent estate planning services.