Having an estate plan is crucial if you are a Californian resident with an estate to manage, but writing an estate plan is not enough. Your estate plan must reflect your current life circumstances. For that reason, there are several points throughout your life that you may want to consider updating your plan.
Forbes takes a look at when you may want to change or update your estate plan. Most of these moments revolve around big changes in your life. For example, changes to life circumstances can lead to changes to an estate plan being necessary. Life changes can include familial changes like:
- Marriage or remarriage
- Divorce
- Adoption or having a baby
- Discovering a dependent has a learning disability
Any of these circumstances can lead to you wanting to divide your estate differently. You may want to remove or add someone from your beneficiaries. Adjusting your plan can allow you to do this.
Changes are not limited to your family. Finances are another big area. It is important to change any time you come into a significant amount of money or lose a large amount, or file for bankruptcy.
Another common occurrence is someone moving to a different state or out of the country. In these situations, the law may handle matters of the estate differently. You will want to edit your estate plan so that it is compliant with local laws.
Speaking of laws, you should keep an eye on the laws in your area. Tax laws and other laws relevant to estate planning are particularly important. If the laws in your location change, adjust your estate plan to reflect that.
