When should you update your estate plan?

You put in time and energy to create a proper estate plan for yourself and your loved ones in Georgia and elsewhere. Do you know when you may want to change or update your estate planning documents?

Creating an estate plan is not a onetime task. Learn which circumstances call for you to realign your desires to protect your assets, hard work and loved ones.

People enter or exit your life

Perhaps one of your children recently had a baby. Or maybe you had a falling out with a close relative. Either situation may require revisiting and revising your estate plan. You may want to leave your new grandchild a portion of your inheritance. Or, you may feel justified in disinheriting a relative whom you named in your estate but recently demonstrated a measure of financial irresponsibility.

You moved to Georgia recently

When you move to a new state, you must have a legal professional review your current estate. In its current form, your documents may not adhere to your new state’s laws and regulations. You may move from a state that has estate or inheritance tax to one that does not. Even if you only buy a new home in a different state, your purchase may affect your estate plan.

You experienced a major shift in assets

Since you first created your estate plan, you may have gained more (or lost) assets. If so, revisit your estate with a legal advocate to see if you should make edits.

Did you buy or sell a business, house or similar asset? If so, that shifts the value of your estate, which is another scenario to go over with an estate planning professional.

Take steps to ensure that your estate plan always aligns with your current lifestyle and desires. The smallest shift could create massive ripples.

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Kevin Tharpe

With 25 years of experience, Kevin understands how estate planning, special needs planning, and government benefits programs work together. This is a crucial element of a thorough plan. He explains your eligibility for benefits programs and ensures that you do not make costly mistakes that may disqualify you or deplete your assets.

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