Estate Planning Lawyer: Know When Estate Plan Review Is Necessary

Most people spend a lot of their time looking for money and building wealth, and you are definitely one of them. But even as you do so, it's good to think of where your estate and other assets will go. Proper estate planning is one of the ways to ensure your efforts don't go down the drain. And because it's a process with several intricacies, it's wise to seek help from an estate planning lawyer. In most cases, estate planning involves knowing who will own or manage your assets when you die or get incapacitated. Since life changes are inevitable, you must update and revisit your estate plan regularly to ensure it reflects your current situation.

Here are a few life situations that may require you to review your estate plan.

Your Marital Status Has Changed

People change their marital status for various reasons. The worst thing they do is fail to update their estate plan when it happens. If your marital status recently changed, you also need to update your estate plan to avoid future problems. For instance, you should include your newly married spouse in your estate plan. If you had indicated that someone else would benefit from your life insurance policies and retirement benefits, you might now consider your spouse a more eligible beneficiary.

On the other hand, if you divorce, you should update your estate plan immediately. If you don't, you may have a lot of problems after the divorce process, particularly if you had named the ex-spouse as the beneficiary.

You Have Become a Parent

When you give birth or adopt children, you are responsible for caring for them until they grow up. So if you had already created an estate plan before adopting them, you should review it and include them in it. If they are minors, you should decide who should look after them when you die. According to most estate planning lawyers, you should be careful when choosing someone to care for your minors. Check if they have other demanding responsibilities or conditions that can make it hard for them to look after your children.

The Law Has Changed

Your estate plan should comply with the current state law. But just like in any other country, estate laws can change. You need to monitor these changes because they significantly affect your estate plan and the beneficiaries. Ensure you make the changes required by the law so that your estate plan can effectively protect your assets. Talk to a trusted estate planning lawyer to find out if the estate law has changed in any way and if the introduced changes require you to update your current estate plan. 

If any of the above events occur, contact an estate planning lawyer to help you review your estate plan. The lawyer will help you know the legal requirements to consider when reviewing or updating your estate plan.