Change in Marital Status

If you have married or entered into a domestic partnership, it is time to make revisions to your Will. If you are not married and would like to add your loved one to your Will, it is essential to do this as soon as possible, because if you die without a Will your partner may not be entitled to inherit any of your assets.

Updating beneficiary designations to your policies and accounts upon marriage is also important. Such policies and accounts include your life insurance, bank, brokerage, and retirement accounts. Additionally, remember to remove your ex-spouse as a beneficiary if you so desire.

New Children or Adult Children

It is time to update your Will if you have new children or grandchildren, either by birth or adoption. Especially if you have new stepchildren or step-grandchildren, you should name them in your Will because they won’t inherit otherwise. As your children grow and your family dynamics change, you may want to revise certain provisions.

Guardianship for Minor Children

When your kids were young, you designated a guardian for them. But what if your oldest child is now 25 years old, and you think they are an appropriate guardian for your 17-year-old? Or what if your relationship with your named guardians changed, and you feel someone else is better suited to care for your children? You may update the guardians in your Will to reflect changes in your relationships or your children’s circumstances.

Age of Inheritance

When your child or grandchild turns 18, it may be good to revisit your will. You can update any conditions on inheriting your assets, such as entering university or a specific age. Suppose your grandson dropped out of varsity because he became a successful web designer. You may change the provision that blocks him from an inheritance conditioned on a university degree. Or you might alter your distribution method so they will inherit when they are older.

Changes in Beneficiary Relationships

Family dynamics can be complicated. You may no longer want a named beneficiary to inherit. Or situations change; for example, your original Will may split your assets among your son and daughter. But what if your daughter was a doctor or lawyer in a better economic situation than your son? You can change the distribution of your estate to be more equitable.

Note, however, if you intend to exclude a child from receiving any inheritance, you must explicitly state it in your Will. Simply omitting their name is not enough. A court may assume the exclusion was unintentional.

Death of a Beneficiary or Fiduciary

The death of a loved one or family member can heavily impact your estate plan, especially if the individual is a beneficiary, executor, power of attorney, guardian, or trustee.

If a beneficiary of an account or policy (for example, a bank account) dies before you, the asset returns to your estate. Or if you leave a gift in a Will and the beneficiary dies, you may want that gift to go to someone else. One way around this is to update your beneficiaries and assign a secondary or contingent beneficiary.

Changes in Your Financial Situation

You may have just started a new business or retired from your career. Or your investments have rocketed, and your RA is flush (congratulations!). Any changes to your financial assets have implications for your beneficiaries that you can address in your Will.

Opening or Closing a Business Venture

Your personal interest in a business, whether is your own company or not, will also be inherited. You can gift your entire company through your Will and even include instructions on managing the business after your death. Providing clear directions will help the business run with minimal interruption.

Change In Asset Value

Some assets, such as shares, can fluctuate wildly in value. Depending on your estate plan, this could mean your children receive unequal gifts, or your charity of choice receives nothing. Keep track of market changes to ensure you gift your possessions as you intended.

Shares and accounts are not your only financial assets; remember to consider newly acquired or disposed of assets. Real estate, inheritances, and other personal property (such as jewellery) are also valuable assets.

The value of your estate helps determine taxes, allocation, and the basis for future sales, so make sure your Will reflects the most recent valuation of your assets.

Moving Home

Moving to a new home is a common reason to make revisions to your Will. Since descriptions of real estate, either by coordinates or the street address, are in your Will, you should update the information to reflect your current situation.

Did you downsize? Review your will and omit items you no longer own. If you do not, the person set to inherit the old possession will not receive anything in its place.

Your living Will may need to be updated too.

Changes in Tax Law

When tax laws change, it may affect your estate, so please consult with your Wealth Specialist or financial advisor.

Other Considerations

Are you planning to move to a long-term care facility? Do you have serious health concerns or a terminal illness that requires you to reevaluate your desired end-of-life care? Perhaps you would like to change your power of attorney. Major life events look different for everybody, and there are many common reasons to update your Will or other legal documents.

But, whatever your circumstances, this month at least, please take out your Will and see what, if anything needs updating.

With acknowledgement, the full original version of this article can be found at: https://www.findlaw.com/forms/resources/estate-planning/checklist-reasons-estate-planning.html