On behalf of Law Offices of Frye, Fortich & Garcia, P.L. | February 2, 2022 | Estate Planning
Whether you drew up a will recently or years ago, keep in mind it’s generally not something you can set and forget.
Experts recommend revisiting your will and other estate-planning documents at least every few years unless there are reasons to do it more frequently — which is common. That could include things like marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of a child, coming into a lot of money (i.e., inheritance, lottery win, etc.) or even moving to another state where estate laws differ from the one where your will was drawn up.
The One Constant Is Change
Even if you’ve had no major life event, individuals you previously chose to handle certain duties may no longer be in a position to do so.
- Is your previously chosen executor still a suitable choice? This is the person who is charged with carrying out your wishes, liquidating accounts, ensuring your assets go to the proper beneficiaries, paying any debts not discharged (i.e., taxes owed), and even selling your home could be among the duties undertaken by the executor.
- Guardians, if you’ve named guardians to care for your children; are they still the people you’d want in that position?
- Look at the people to whom you’ve assigned powers of attorney. If you become incapacitated at some point, the people with that authority will handle your medical and financial affairs if you cannot.
Often, the person who is given this responsibility for decisions related to your health care is different from whom you would name to handle your financial affairs.
As with choosing an executor, make sure whoever would hold the financial reins is trustworthy, experts say.
In other words, even if you’ve had no major life event, individuals you previously chose to handle certain duties may no longer be in a position to do so.
