After creating an estate plan, you cannot simply let it stay the same for the rest of your life. After all, life itself constantly changes, and your plan needs to reflect your life at its most current moment.
So how do you handle estate plan reviews, then? Is there a timeline you should follow, or do you simply have to make guesses?
When to review your plans
Forbes points out that many people go past the recommended time in which they should give an estate plan review. However, it is not as frequent as you might expect. Generally speaking, the recommended amount of time between reviews is around 3 to 5 years.
Essentially, you want to review somewhat frequently in order to make sure that no small changes have occurred which may necessitate changing certain parts of the estate plan around. These changes may end up forgotten over time without the refresher, and may thus never happen.
You also want to do a review any time you undergo major life changes. In particular, pay mind to changes to your assets and your beneficiaries.
Major life changes that prompt review
Your beneficiaries include anyone who will benefit from any part of your estate. This can range from people on your will to individuals mentioned in your life insurance policies.
As for asset changes, you want to cover the major ones that will likely last for some time. This can include falling into debt or filing for bankruptcy, coming into an inheritance, or transferring assets. Examples of transferred assets include buying or selling property.
By reviewing your plan, you can make the necessary changes to ensure that it stays tailored to your current life situation.