2 life events that could necessitate an update to your estate plan
Life can end at any time, which is why it is so crucial to have an estate plan in place. Life is also full of changes and some of those changes are so significant that they could necessitate you making a change to your estate plan.
Here are some of those life events that should cause you to pull out your estate planning documents and see if you need to alter something:
1. Additions to the family
Maybe you are now a proud parent for the first time. If so, you need to take steps such as naming a guardian for your child, to take over raising them if you die. You likely also want to write them into your will, so that they will receive some of the assets you own when you die.
Further children will also need a guardian naming for them. It could of course be the same person as for the first child, but you still need to document that wish. You’ll also need to specifically write the child into your plan as a beneficiary rather than just relying on the first child to share an inheritance with them.
2. Changes in your marital status
Marriage and divorce will both affect your estate. One will increase it, the other will reduce it. An estate plan should reflect everything you own and nothing that you don’t – so marriage and divorce will require alterations for this reason.
Also, a spouse typically has rights to part of your estate when you die, and many people document their wish to leave their spouses more than what the law would give them if there were no will. People also often give their spouse specific responsibilities, such as a power of attorney. When you divorce, you need to undo all these benefits and positions you gave them (unless you still want them to have them).
Keeping your estate plan up to date doesn’t take much time, provided you keep on top of it. Doing so can make life a lot simpler for you and those you will leave behind.