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4 Life Changes To Address In Your Yearly Estate Review

16 January 2018

Arthur Young

At the start of each year, it is a good idea to review your estate plan. This gives you an opportunity to address any changes in your life and make sure that your estate plan takes care of all the important people in your life. It also gives you a chance to update ever changing information, such as how to access your digital footprint and your medical information. 

The first thing that you need to think about when you review your estate plan is if you have had any big changes in your life in the past year that would warrant changes to your overall estate plan.

People Changes

Many of the life changes that you may want to address show to do with the people in your life. Did you get married or divorced? Did you have or adopt a child? Did someone pass away who was an important part of your estate plan? Make sure that you account for any new important individuals in your life in your estate plan. Also, you may need to update your estate plan if someone who played a vital role in it, either as a dependent or as an executor of your will, potential guardian to your child, or designed individual to make health choices for you, has passed away or is not able to fulfill those duties for a variety of reasons.

Financial Changes

The other life changes that you may need to address are financial. Did you sell a home or asset? Did you purchase a home? Did you gain other assets or income? Make sure that you get rid of any references to assets and income that you no longer have and update your will to account for any new assets that you now have.

Digital Changes

In today's day and age, with so much of your important personal and financial information stored on the cloud and through various websites, it is important to keep a physical record of how to access your digital record.

In your estate plan, you should include a document that details all of the websites that you use for both financial, personal and professional reasons. You should also include password information or information for any accounts that you use to store all of your passwords. That way, if something does happen to you, your loved ones will not have to slog through the lengthy process of gaining access to your digital life.

Medical Changes

Your estate plan should also address your health. It can be wise to include a document in your estate plan that lists all of your medical conditions and medications, updated on a yearly basis. Your estate plan should also include a medical directive and information about who you would appoint to make decisions for you if you are not able to.

Make sure that your will is reflective of where your life is right now, not where it was a year ago or whenever you last updated your estate plan. Life is fluid, and your estate plan should be as well. For more tips, contact an estate planning professional in your area. 

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