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Because there are several factors that can cause estate planning documents to no longer be current, every four or five years a will and living trust must be reviewed. Federal and state law possible changes: - State and federal laws are constantly changing, both because Congress and state legislatures make changes and because the courts render decisions that affect tax-saving or estate-planning techniques. - For example, in 2009 the federal estate tax exemption is scheduled to go to $3,500,000. In 2010, estate taxes may be repealed altogether. On the other hand, there is a good possibility that estate taxes may be raised in 2009. Does an old estate plan provide the flexibility to deal with any of these possibilities? Possible changes in personal circumstances: Here are some of the possible changes in personal circumstances that could affect how current are your estate planning documents: - You may have had a new child, or you may have decided to change who you named as the guardian of your children. - You may have gotten divorced or remarried. - You may have received an inheritance, putting your estate into a range where some advanced estate planning techniques would be a benefit. - You may have bought a different house or commercial property and forgotten to transfer that new property into your existing trust. - You may have finally decided who gets Uncle Harry's coin collection or Grandma's china. Your current estate plans can be affected by a number of other changes. Difficulties of going through a review of estate planning documents: For many people, making the decisions required for estate planning documents is difficult. Considering scenarios that can be uncomfortable are often required in order to make these decisions. So when a client has finally signed his or her estate planning documents, there's a big sense of relief - as well as the desire not to think of these decisions again. But there are consequences of not reviewing estate planning documents every few years: If estate plans are not reviewed every few years or a personal situation changes, a surviving spouse or heirs can be in deep muck. It's important to keep estate planning documents current to save loved ones from avoidable problems. The above information is NOT legal advice, only considerations for you to discuss with your own estate planning attorney. An attorney-client relationship is not established by the providing of this material.
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