Update Your Estate Plan After These 4 Life Events

Making an estate plan is a good idea, and it’s often wise to make it while you’re still young. After all, you never know what life holds or exactly when your family will need that plan.

However, if you make it long before you actually have to use the plan, this means you’re probably going to want to update it as you go. You could do this on a set schedule, such as making updates every three years. But you can also do it after major life events. Let’s look at a few examples below.

1. Changing your marital status

Whether you get married or divorced, you definitely want to update your plan. You would need to take your ex out of a previously created plan or you would need to add your new spouse in.

2. The birth of an heir

For young couples, this may mean the birth of a child to whom they are going to leave their own assets. For older couples, however, it may also be wise to make updates after grandchildren are born.

3. Major changes in assets

Additionally, since estate planning is often focused on the distribution of assets, you may want to update your plan anytime something big changes, such as selling a home or buying a business.

4. Significant health changes

Another part of estate planning involves future medical planning. You may want to create an advance directive or a medical power of attorney, for instance. If you were diagnosed with a serious medical condition, it’s time to get these documents in place.

Overall, estate planning can be complex, so it’s very wise to carefully look into all of the options that you have as you get it set up.