Creating an estate plan is just one step in a multi-part process. After you have created the plan, you must then go back and review it periodically.
But how do you know when the time is right for an estate plan review?
A baseline of reviewing
Forbes discusses the best times to review your estate plan. First, you should take a look at your estate plan once every three to five years regardless of what has been going on in your life. This is a good time to take a refresher and make sure there are no little changes you want made that you may have forgotten about.
Reviewing after major life changes
Beyond that, you should consider reviewing and updating your estate plan every time you go through significant life changes. For example, if you move to another state, you should review your plan to ensure that it abides by the new state’s estate plan laws.
Changes to your potential beneficiaries are also a good marker for a review. This includes losing potential beneficiaries, as is the case when you have falling outs with loved ones, go through divorce, or lose a person because of sudden death. It also includes gaining new potential beneficiaries through birth, marriage, new friendships or relationships and so on.
Finally, consider updating your plan or at least reviewing it when you go through major financial changes that you expect will last for several months or longer. This can include coming into a large sum of money via an inheritance or other means or falling into debt. All of these major changes should come along with a review of your plan to ensure it says accurate.