Look Out for Your Heirs: Update Your Will

The will is a very important document.  It is set in place to protect those we care about should we die or become incapacitated.  Yet, it has been shown through a survey that 86% of the people who have wills or other estate documents have not updated them in five years.  A lot of destruction could happen to your family if you do not update your will.

A Lot Can Happen in Five Years: Update Your Will

A lot can happen in five years.  Congress could make major changes to the gift and estate taxes.  The estate plan that you currently have in place may not take advantage of these changes.  One very good reason to always update your will.

Your family could change a lot in five years.  If you don’t update your will you could inadvertently disinherit new arrivals to your family.  Also, the person that you thought best qualified to be the executor of your estate could pick up a gambling habit within five years.  It would be a shame for the family fortune to be entrusted to hands that have become so untrustworthy.  Another good reason to always update your will.

People are not the only thing that changes, assets change.  For example consider Enron.  People who owned stock in Enron who willed that stock to their heirs and did not update their will did not leave their heirs the fortune that they had intended to.  A third very good reason to always update your will.

The Purpose of Your Estate Plan

The purpose of your estate plan is to give directives of what should happen when you die or become incapacitated.  You would put in place a will that will utilize the “hard structures” of your family.  These are trusts, wills, and advanced directives.  Advanced directives include medical powers of attorney, durable powers of attorney, medical directives and living wills.

Nobody Likes Talking About Death:  Update Your Will Anyway

Let’s face it, who likes talking about death?  The truth is that most people don’t.  USA Today released data that states that 71% of American Adults younger than 34 years old do not have a will.  It also released data that states that 41% of aging baby boomers do not have a will.

Even though nobody likes to talk about dying the truth is that death happens.  Those of us who have families can’t afford to ignore this solemn fact.  Update your will.  Don’t ignore this very important chore because it is an uncomfortable subject.

Don’t think that just because you are young that you don’t need an estate plan.  Sure your estate plan would look different than someone who has assets, a wife and children yet you still need one.  Accidents happen.  If you are in a terrible accident and are in a coma, you would want your family members to be able to make important decisions regarding your medical care.  You would want family members to be able to have the legal authority to get information regarding your condition and to make decisions.

Read Your Will and Advanced Directives

Periodically read your will and trusts.  Doing so would bring to mind if something has changed in your life that needs to be addressed.  Reasons to update your will happens every day.  There could be new marriages, divorces, deaths and births.  You may need to add or delete beneficiaries.  If nothing has changed it is still good to read your will.  This way you always know what’s in it.

It is good to update your advanced directives every three years.  There are financial institutions that won’t honor powers of attorney that are according to them “outdated.”

Conclusion

Review your will annually.  Many things could happen in a year that could cause you to need to update your will.  Death is not the most pleasant topic but don’t let that deter you from reviewing your will.  An up-to-date will is what your family needs in the event that tragedy strikes and you die or are no longer able to make decisions for yourself.

If you learned anything new from this post then please leave a comment.