As estate planning attorneys, we are frequently asked by clients how often they should review their estate planning documents. Should it be every three years … every five years … every ten years? Rather than consider the response in terms of time, we prefer to advise clients to think in terms of need or life stage. On occasion, reviewing estate planning documents after a specified period of time has passed will be prudent, but more often other factors will weigh more heavily. This article will provide guidance to individuals who might wonder whether their estate planning documents are due for review.
The first consideration should be whether there is a need to change a document. For example, after a move to a new state, the estate planning documents should be reviewed by an attorney licensed to practice in that state. Further, if the executor named in a will has died, moved out of state, or is no longer the appropriate person to serve, then the will should be updated to substitute another executor for the one who will no longer serve. Similarly, if a guardian for a minor child is no longer appropriate because he or she has relocated to another state, or because the guardian’s personal circumstances have changed, it may be necessary to revise the will to name a new guardian. A change in the tax laws may also suggest a need for revision of a will or trust.
New life stages may also provide reasons to update estate planning documents. For example, when children are minors, it is oftentimes appropriate to establish a trust to hold a child’s inheritance until a child reaches a specific age in order to safeguard the funds and minimize potential waste. As a child grows up, the need for a trust may be eliminated, or the terms of a trust might warrant a change to give a child different benefits or more control. Similarly, when a child becomes an adult, it may be appropriate to name the child to a position of responsibility, as perhaps appointing the child as an executor.
For people with a need for more concrete guidance, and who think in terms of time, we generally recommend that documents be reviewed at least every ten years. There are indeed some practical reasons for this recommendation. Estate planning documents encompass not only wills and trust agreements, but also lifetime planning documents such as a power of attorney or advance directive for health care/living will. Particularly in the case of a power of attorney, periodic updating is important because individuals or institutions presented with a power of attorney are more comfortable accepting a current document. Older powers of attorney, although perfectly legal, can raise concerns that the document may have been changed, revoked. or superseded in the interim period. A power of attorney that is more current is less apt to raise a question.
The answer to the title question, then, is that estate planning documents should be reviewed when there is a need (i.e., to change a provision that no longer accords with one’s wishes, or because of a relocation to another state), or a new life stage (i.e., to bring children into positions of responsibility, or to eliminate a provision that no longer serves its original purpose), or every ten years.