In Part 1 of Estate Planning Gone Wrong, I talked about how, as a Michigan estate planning lawyer, I have seen some common issues in messy Michigan estate administrations and probates from clients who did not do their estate planning with our law firm. Notably when they do their estate plan themselves.
The second major issue we commonly spot is when an individual executes an estate plan with another lawyer or law firm, but then never updates their plan. This does not happen at our Bloomfield Hills estate planning law firm because we have a system in place called Foundations, where we review with our clients their estate plans on an annual basis.
Too often people think estate planning can be "one and done," where once they have executed their estate plan they can forget about it until they pass or are incapacitated. However, this is not the case. If you create an estate plan while your are young with no children, then do not update the plan until you pass or are incapacitated when you're in your 80's, do you think your original estate plan will meet your goals? Of course not.
The second major issue we commonly spot is when an individual executes an estate plan with another lawyer or law firm, but then never updates their plan. This does not happen at our Bloomfield Hills estate planning law firm because we have a system in place called Foundations, where we review with our clients their estate plans on an annual basis.
Too often people think estate planning can be "one and done," where once they have executed their estate plan they can forget about it until they pass or are incapacitated. However, this is not the case. If you create an estate plan while your are young with no children, then do not update the plan until you pass or are incapacitated when you're in your 80's, do you think your original estate plan will meet your goals? Of course not.
Granted that example is taken too extreme. In a reality, we recommend an annual review of your estate plan. Any major life changes could and probably will call for a change to the estate plan. The following is a list of events that would warrant a review of your estate plan:
- Birth of a child or grandchild
- Deaths of individuals names in any part of the estate plan
- Divorce, either your own or of people named in your estate plan
- Incapacity
- New financial accounts
- Moving your residence
- Major change in overall wealth
- New family goals
- Changes in tax code or legal enviorment
Continued in Estate Planning Gone Wrong | Part 3
-Christopher J. Berry, Esq.
Metro Detroit Estate Planning Lawyer
