After creating your estate plan, it is wise to review it every now and then. This allows it to stay true to your actual real life circumstances, which is crucial in order to make the estate plan actually valid.
But how do you know when it is time to review the plan? How often should you review it? And what should you focus on when conducting these reviews?
Primary components of an estate plan
Forbes discusses the crucial parts of your estate plan that you should spend time reviewing. That is to say, you do not need to spend every single review combing through your estate plan with the utmost care. In fact, most estate plan reviews are more of an overview of the entire thing. Instead, you should focus on the most crucial aspects during most reviews. This includes:
- Your will or trust
- Your beneficiaries
- Active figures such as your executor or power of attorney
When should you review?
As for when it should happen, this differs depending on your life circumstances. First, you should review your plan immediately if you face major life changes. This can include changing a healthcare proxy or beneficiary, or significant financial losses or gains. After all, you do not want to give away things you no longer have or let an ex-spouse make off with your assets.
But if your life is currently not undergoing any such changes, experts generally suggest you review your plan every three or so years. This acts as a refresher. You can see if what you want still aligns with what you have written, and make any alterations accordingly. You can also seek legal help to streamline the process even more.