Many people all across the country naively think that they don’t need a will to ensure that their estate plan is secure. Actually, many people just don’t even consider a will, and they assume that all they have worked for throughout their lives will simply be taken care of naturally. This is an unfortunate reality, but there is another side to this fact: many people do have a will, and they take the necessary steps to protect their estate.
Having a will is so vital to your well-being, and the document goes a long way towards protecting your nest egg, your beneficiaries, and your loved ones.
But there is another step that you have to take after creating your will: you need to make sure you are frequently updating that will. Leaving it as is and hoping that the provisions included in the will match your wishes over the years is overconfident at best and negligent at worst. So once you have a will, make sure you update the document in light of a bevy of potential life events like:
- Having children or grandchildren, or if your children or grandchildren reach the age of 18
- Getting married or divorced
- If a lot of time has passed since your last review of your will
- Your estate increases or decreases in value significantly
- State laws that pertain to wills and/or estates change
There are many other reasons why you should review your will, but these are some common ones.
Source: FindLaw, “Checklist: Reasons to Update Your Will & Estate Planning Documents,” Accessed Jan. 17, 2018
