Updating or Modifying Existing Estate Planning Documents with an Estate Attorney

The Process and How Often a Will or Other Estate Planning Documents Should Be Updated

There are two different ways of changing your estate planning: codicils and writing a whole new will. A codicil is a minor change to a will or other planning documents, and it is the easier of the two. A good example would be if you have a child, and the child marries. In many cases, your child will have a new last name. You want your will to be accurate so that your child inherits the right amount and the correct items from your estate. Another example would be when you want to change who the executor is.

Major changes to a will should result in a whole new will. Having even a few codicils will become very complicated and increase the risk of messing up- and possibly even invalidating- the entire will. It makes much more sense to compose a new will. An estate planning attorney is a good ally to have so that you can ensure that everything both a) complies with any federal, state, or local laws that apply and b) that everything is detailed the way the client wants within those laws. Major changes include adding new people, removing people, changing the will to comply with new laws, and anything else that's not appropriate for a mere codicil.

Benefits of Representation With An Estate Planning Attorney

The process of estate planning is essential for you to be able to take care of your family, friends, and/or charitable contributions after you die. Unfortunately, death or incapacitation can happen unexpectedly at any time; therefore, it’s crucial to create estate planning documents as soon as possible, as well as keep them updated and maintained. Updates should be done approximately every three years, or whenever significant changes happen in your life. Even if you don't have specific updates to make, you should still go over your will with your estate planning attorney every three years to be certain it still properly aligns with your wishes. If your documents become outdate, the people to whom you've bequeathed property or other items might have died which would leave those assets in limbo.

The basic process is simple: decide how you’d like to allocate the resources, write it up, and consult with an estate planning lawyer to guarantee the will is legal. Acquire witnesses and sign the document in the correct locations. Of course, there are complications because no one's life, family, and/or circle of friends is perfect. An estate attorney can help you navigate these potential complications. One example of such help would be to recommend a personal property memorandum. That's a list of everything tangible that you own, such as artworks or family heirlooms. If you include a line in the will that says "see attached memorandum," you can change the list of bequests as you see fit without having to change the actual will. The Best Law Firm would be honored to assist you throughout the entire estate planning process.