The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to start thinking about the future. When you think about what your future may hold, you may realize that a lot of changes have taken place in the previous year that could greatly affect where your life goes. As a result, you may need to make some updates.
In particular, if you have already created your estate plan, you may want to take some time at the beginning of the new year to review and update your plan. More than likely, some life event has occurred within the last year or few years that warrants an update, and reviewing your plan may bring that need to light.
When should you make changes?
You can make changes to your already existing estate plan for practically any reason. You may have simply changed your mind about a certain bequest, or a major life event may warrant a change. If you are wondering whether updating your plan could be useful, you may want to ask yourself the following questions:
- Did you get married or divorced?
- Did you welcome a new child or grandchild?
- Did you purchase a home or other significant asset?
- Did a death in the family occur, particularly the death of someone named as a beneficiary, guardian, executor, trustee or another position in your estate plan?
- Did you change careers?
- Did you or your spouse change financial goals?
- Did a family member become seriously ill or disabled?
- Do you have new concerns about potentially needing long-term care in the future?
- Did you take on any considerable liability?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have a specific reason to update your estate plan. Of course, as mentioned, reviewing your plan even without any of these specific instances is wise because you may come to realize that making a change for another reason is necessary.
Updating your plan
Estate planning is not a one-and-done activity, which is immensely beneficial. If all estate-related decisions had to be made permanently, it would cause major problems. If you are interested in going over an existing plan and making updates or even taking the time to create your first estate plan, you may want to go over your planning options with a knowledgeable Colorado attorney who can help you assess your circumstances and implement that best planning tools for those circumstances.