Estate Plans Often Require a Review

There are many reasons to revisit your estate plan, including the new tax laws.

The recent focus on the new tax laws might make people not affected by the estate tax think they have no need to review their estate plans. There are a number of reasons to take a fresh look, according to Forbes in “7 Reasons To Review Your Estate Plan, Trump Tax Law Aside.”

Among the other reasons:

• Ensuring that your assets and property are still distributed as you want in the proportions you want.
• Making sure the person you chose to be the executor of your estate is still able and willing to serve in that capacity.
• If you have minor children, you should make sure the person you previously named to be their guardian is still an appropriate choice.
• It is always a good time to review your estate plan to determine if your family will be better served by using a trust or a will, based on the mix of your assets.
• Other documents, such as powers of attorney and health care advanced directives, should be reviewed to make sure what you have is still what you want.
• Tax laws are always changing, so a review of your estate plan is important for taxes other than just the estate tax.
• You should always review to make sure any gifting program you have undertaken is appropriate or whether you should start one, if you are not currently gifting.

Reference: Forbes (March 15, 2018) “7 Reasons To Review Your Estate Plan, Trump Tax Law Aside.”