Creating and maintaining an estate plan provides a person with the peace of mind in knowing they have a plan for the future. Whether it’s preparing for the future of a business, planning for potential health issues or deciding on beneficiaries, estate planning allows you to make important decisions now that will hold great impact down the line.
It’s not enough to compile an estate plan and leave it in a folder for when it’s needed. All prudent planners in Florida need to revisit their estate over time to ensure it remains relevant and enforceable if necessary. It’s important to keep an estate plan up to date with the changes in your life as well as any changes in law and policies governing estate planning and probate.
Important times to update a will
One element of an estate plan to keep up to date is your will. Creating a will for the first time is an important step in planning for the future, but it’s by no means the last step in the process. Life changes big and small can have a major impact on the relevance and efficacy of a drafted will.
The most seemingly obvious times to update a will are the big changes in a person’s life, including:
- Buying a home
- Getting married
- Starting a family
- Building a new business
- Moving homes, cities or states
- Getting a divorce
- Losing loved ones
- Changes in personal wealth
- New or worsening health issues
While it’s important to update a will when the big changes happen, it’s also crucial to revisit estate planning documents on a more regular basis. Take a look at your estate plan every year or two years at the most. Even if it seems as though nothing is different, it’s important to continue monitoring your future plans to make sure they still reflect your current situation in life.
Considering your loved ones
Not only does estate planning provide the individual with peace of mind, but it also protects the loved ones during difficult times. For those already dealing with a state of grief, a litigious probate process is an entirely undue burden to add to the situation. When you maintain a relevant, enforceable estate plan, you put the wellbeing and success of your loved ones at the top of the priority list.
Estate planning is an important step in preparing for the future. While it’s important to create an initial plan, it’s also crucial to keep plans up to date throughout your lifetime. When in doubt, consult financial and legal experts in estate planning to work on keeping your estate plan as comprehensive and updated as needed. Taking the initiative to update and maintain your estate plan can make all the difference when implementing the plans later on.