Revising Your Will

One of the primary questions that a person might want to ask him or herself after completely his or her will is when should that person review and revise the estate planning that he or she created? A person might want to consider revising a document such as a will or revocable trust about every 5 years. There are a few exceptions to this general rule.

One of these exception is if there are changes in the law that would alter aspects of the estate planning documents. One example of this type of change is the estate tax exemption. A person might also want to change his or her estate planning documents if the person expects to earn a great deal of wealth that could might inadvertently use most of the person’s estate and gift tax exemption. In addition to the changes in the law, a person might wnat to consider changing his or her estate plan in response to changes in the economic climate. The reduced value of assets might create a favorable environment to make lifetime transfers of assets for gift and estate tax purposes. The final and one of the more prevalent reasons why a person should change his or her estate planning documents is a change in family members. This covers everything from losing or gaining a spouse to becoming a parent or grandparent. 

See Deborah L. Jacobs, When Should You Redo Your Will?, Forbes, Aug. 9, 2012.