Updating Your Will

When to Update Your Will?

Estate planning is a lifelong process that does not end the moment you sign your Will. Your Will is a flexible instrument that should change as your needs change. Once you have established a Will, you should keep it up-to-date to ensure its accuracy and validity.

Estate planning experts recommend that your Will be reviewed at least every three years and whenever there is a substantial change in your family or financial situation. Generally, you should review your Will when:

a) the value of the property you own increases or decreases significantly;

b) you move from one state to another;

c) there are changes in federal and/or state tax laws or the laws governing estates;

d) there are changes in your family, such as births, deaths, adoptions, marriages and divorces;

e) there are changes in your choice of guardian, personal representative or trustee;

f) there are changes in the way in which you own property (e.g., joint tenancy, tenants in common); and

g) there are changes in your personal wishes (e.g., you have changed your mind about a beneficiary’s inheritance or you have acquired new charitable interests).

Once your Will is signed and witnessed, you can change it by preparing a formal, witnessed codicil (an amendment), or by revoking and destroying the original Will and writing a new one. A codicil is usually for minor changes, while major revisions call for a new Will.

An up-to-date Will can help ensure financial protection for your spouse and children in the future. If you have not developed an estate plan, or if you believe your documents are outdated, you should take action now so you can rest assured that your assets will be distributed as you intended.