Is Your Estate Plan Still the Right Plan? 7 Things to Review This Fall

If you already have an estate plan, you’ve done something important for yourself and the people you love. You made decisions, put documents in place, and created a plan for what happens if you become unable to manage things yourself—or when you’re no longer here.

But when was the last time you actually looked at your estate plan?

I ask because estate plans have a way of sitting quietly in a drawer while life keeps moving. Children grow up. Parents die. Relationships change. People move. Assets are bought and sold. The person who seemed like the obvious choice to handle something ten years ago may not be the right choice today.

Estate Planning Awareness Week is a good reminder that having a plan isn’t quite the same thing as having the right plan.

Here are seven things I encourage you to review this fall.

1. Your Financial Power of Attorney

Who have you named to handle your finances if you can’t? Think beyond whether you still trust that person. Are they still willing and able to serve? Do they live somewhere that makes helping you practical? Do they understand your finances and how you would want things handled? A choice that made perfect sense when you signed your documents may not make as much sense today.

2. Your Healthcare Decision-Makers

Take another look at the people you’ve named to make healthcare decisions for you. Would they be comfortable speaking with doctors and asking questions? Could they make a difficult decision based on your wishes, even if it wasn’t the decision they would make for themselves? Most importantly, have you actually talked with them about what you want?

3. Your Beneficiary Designations

Your Will or Trust isn’t necessarily the final word on everything you own. Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and other assets may pass according to beneficiary designations. That makes it important to review them periodically, especially after a marriage, divorce, death, birth, or other major family change. Make sure the people listed are still the people you intend to receive those assets.

4. Your Executor or Trustee

The person you chose to settle your estate or manage your trust may eventually have a significant responsibility.

Is that person still the best choice? Are they organized and dependable? Are they still part of your life? And do they know you’ve named them? This is also a good time to review your backup choices in case your first choice can’t serve.

5. Your Assets

Think about what has changed financially since you created or last updated your plan. Have you purchased or sold real estate? Opened new investment accounts? Started a business? Inherited money? Changed banks? Acquired property that has financial or sentimental value? Your estate plan should reflect what you actually own today, not what you owned years ago.

6. Your Family

Sometimes the biggest reason to update an estate plan has nothing to do with money. Maybe a child has married or divorced. A grandchild has been born. Someone you love has developed a disability or needs additional support. Perhaps there has been a death in the family or a relationship has changed. Your estate plan should reflect the family you have today and the way you want to care for them.

7. Whether Everyone Knows Their Role

This one is easy to overlook. The people you’ve named don’t necessarily need copies of every document right now, but they should know that they have a role and where your important documents can be found. I’ve seen how much harder an already difficult situation can become when a family doesn’t know whether documents exist, where they are, or who is supposed to be making decisions.

Your Estate Plan Should Change as Your Life Changes

You don’t need to rewrite your estate plan every autumn. But you should periodically pull it out, look through it, and ask one simple question:

If something happened to me tomorrow, is this still the plan I would want?

If the answer is yes, that’s reassuring.

If you hesitate on even one part of it, it may be time for a review.

At Kimbrough Law, we help families make sure their estate plans continue to reflect their lives, their priorities, and the people who matter to them. If it’s been a while since you reviewed yours, Estate Planning Awareness Week is a good reason to put it back on your list.

Need guidance? Kimbrough Law can help. Call 706.850.6910 to schedule a consultation.