A common misconception many people have about estate planning is that it’s a one-time event. In other words, they think there’s nothing more to do once they have their will, trust, and power of attorney in their hands.
The reality is that your estate plan and the documents that are included should be updated every few years to account for changes in your life. If you put everything in a drawer and forget about it, it’s likely all your hard work won’t cover all your needs 10, 12, or 20 years from now.
That’s why the New Year is a great time to review your estate plan — especially if you’ve had the following changes in your life:
- Marriage
- Divorce
- New children
- Death
- Changes in healthcare needs
- New assets
- Beneficiary changes
- Financial changes
- New businesses
What is estate planning?
In its simplest form, estate planning is the process of making it clearly known through a series of legal documents what your wishes are after you die or become incapacitated and can’t make decisions for yourself. Think of it as an extremely detailed and carefully-crafted list of instructions, and it covers everything from what to do with your assets to where and how you want to be buried.
How often should you have your estate plan reviewed?
Since there is so much that goes into creating a comprehensive estate plan, our team of estate planning attorneys at Christman | Daniell Attorneys suggest reviewing your existing documents annually. During this meeting, you can share the significant changes in your life while we ask additional questions to uncover anything you may not be considering.
Your attorney is there to meet your needs now and well into the future. They are there to know as many details about your life and family as possible, and their insight into how to protect new investments is critical.
Please call us if our firm helped craft your estate planning documents and it’s been a few years since you’ve had a review, and if you’ve not yet had your documents drafted, our attorneys can assist you in putting these pieces in place so you can have peace of mind as you enter the new year.
Call Christman | Daniell Attorneys for your legal needs today!
Please consult an attorney for advice about your situation. The material on this website and in this or any blog article we publish are for informational purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice. The attorneys at Christman | Daniell Attorneys believe in tailoring legal advice and solutions to your circumstances.
We have an unwavering commitment to helping our clients at each stage of their legal situation.
