When Is It Time To Restate Your Estate Plan?

<p>Welcome to Estate Planning Wednesday.</p><p>Let me begin with a statement that may surprise you:</p><p><b><strong>Your trust can be perfectly legal, properly signed, and completely wrong for your family today.</strong></b></p><p>That is because your estate plan was created for a particular moment in your life. It reflected the people you loved, the assets you owned, the laws in effect, and the decisions you had made at that time.</p><p>But your life did not stop changing the day you signed your trust.</p><p>Children grew up. Grandchildren were born. Parents passed away. Marriages began—and sometimes ended. You bought property, sold businesses, opened retirement accounts, accumulated more wealth, or moved to another state.</p><p>Meanwhile, your trust may still be operating under decisions you made 10, 15, or even 25 years ago.</p><p>So today, we’re answering an important question:</p><p><b><strong>When is a simple amendment enough—and when is it time to restate your entire estate plan?</strong></b></p><p>By the end of today’s show, I want you to be able to look at your own plan and place it into one of three categories:</p><ol><li>My plan is still current.</li><li>My plan needs a limited amendment.</li><li>My plan needs a complete restatement.</li></ol>