Estate plans should change over time to reflect your latest circumstances. As such, you may want to change parts of your plan as your family or financial circumstances change, such as getting married, having children, or acquiring new assets. An estate planning lawyer can guide you through the process of changing or revoking (that is, canceling) your estate plan as needed by your future circumstances or wishes.
Understanding the Flexibility of Estate Plans
An estate plan can leverage various legal tools, such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations. However, once you create an estate plan, you shouldn’t leave it alone for the rest of your life. Instead, you can and should change your estate plan as your financial and personal circumstances change to ensure that your estate plan addresses all your needs and concerns and allows you to gain maximum legal benefits.
When and Why You Might Need to Change Your Estate Plan
Individuals and families should review their estate plan every few years to ensure it continues to reflect their needs and objectives. However, significant life events should also motivate you to review and change your estate plan as needed, such as:
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Birth of a child or grandchild
- Death of a beneficiary named in your estate plan
- Significant increases or decreases in assets or income, such as receiving an inheritance, getting a new job with substantially higher income, or shutting down your business
- Developing long-term adverse health complications
- Moving to a new state or country
- Acquiring assets in a different state, such as purchasing a vacation home or income property
- Changes in estate or tax laws
How to Change Your Estate Plan
Individuals can change estate plans in various ways, depending on which instrument they wish to revise. For example, a person can change their will by executing a codicil – a separate document that amends specific provisions in a will. Alternatively, a person may draft a new will that supersedes their prior will; drafting a new will may prove the better option when you wish to make substantial changes to your current will rather than having two separate documents.
Changing a trust may depend on whether you’ve set up a revocable or irrevocable trust. A revocable trust allows you, as the settlor, to alter or revoke the trust at any time. Conversely, changing an irrevocable trust involves a much more complicated process, usually requiring the consent of the settlor, the trustee, and the trust’s beneficiaries. Sometimes, you may need court approval to change a revocable trust.
You can update other estate plan documents, such as powers of attorney and healthcare directives, by drafting new documents that expressly supersede and revoke prior versions.
Finally, changing beneficiary designations usually involves contacting the financial institution or insurance company that manages the financial account or insurance plan to request new beneficiary designation forms.
Can You Revoke Your Estate Plan?
A person can revoke their estate plan, leaving themselves intestate, by canceling their estate planning documents. A person can revoke their will by executing a codicil that expressly revokes the will or by destroying or defacing the will and all its copies with the intent to revoke it. Similarly, a person can dissolve a revocable trust by removing the assets in the trust, executing a formal revocation declaration, and sending a copy to the trustee. However, revoking an irrevocable trust may require the consent of the settlor, trustee, and beneficiaries or a court order. Finally, people can revoke beneficiary designations by contacting their financial institution or insurance company to cancel their designations.
Contact Us Today for Assistance
Are you thinking about changing your estate plan? If so, an experienced estate planning lawyer can help you determine what revisions will help you achieve your current needs and goals. Contact Palmer & Slay, PLLC, today for a confidential consultation with a knowledgeable estate planning attorney to learn more about changing or revoking an estate plan.