If you have already taken on the important tasks associated with estate planning, you deserve praise for your forward-thinking approach to life. You have now protected your assets and heirs, made important end-of-life decisions and assured that your health care and financial wishes will be honored. However, your job might not be completely finished.
If your life and the people you care about never change, you might be finished with estate planning for the rest of your life, but this is not a realistic expectation. From the time you become an adult until it is time to leave this world, your personal situation will likely undergo many changes. New people will enter your life and some will leave due to death, divorce or simply growing apart. You and your lawyer should address these and other changes in order to make sure your estate plan meets your needs.
Below you will find just a few circumstances that may arise to mark the need for an estate planning update.
- When your children reach adulthood
- If your assets increase or decrease significantly
- If new children or grandchildren enter your life
- Anytime a beneficiary dies
- If you get married or remarried
It is also important to review and possibly update your estate plan every few years even if no significant changes occur. This ensures that your will and other critical estate planning documents comply with the laws in Pennsylvania, which are always subject to change.
The good news is that making updates is typically easier and much less time-consuming as the initial estate planning process is. This is especially so if you have a trusted attorney to help with your updates. If you would like to create an estate plan or update your existing plan, contact an estate planning attorney at the Quinn Law Firm for assitance. We can be reached by calling 814-806-2518.
