We’re halfway through the year, a good moment to do more than review your budget. If your estate plan was drafted a few years ago, or has never been updated since it was signed, certain life events may have already made parts of it outdated. Some of these changes can carry legal consequences whether or not your documents reflect them. Here are seven signals it’s time to bring your estate plan in for a checkup.
1. You got married or divorced. Marriage and divorce are two of the most common triggers for an outdated estate plan. A divorce can change how a former spouse is treated under your existing documents, and a new marriage often brings new expectations and protections for a spouse that your current plan may not account for. Either way, it’s worth confirming that your will, beneficiary designations, and named fiduciaries still reflect your current wishes.
2. You had or adopted a child. Welcoming a new child is one of the most important reasons to update or create an estate plan. Beyond simply adding a beneficiary, this is the time to name guardians, consider how and when a child should receive an inheritance, and decide whether any children should be treated differently for a specific reason. Without clear instructions, these decisions may be left to a default set of rules rather than your own judgment.
3. You bought a home or other significant property. Real estate is often a family’s most valuable asset, and how it’s titled can matter as much as what your will says about it. Depending on how a home is owned, and who survives you, it may not pass the way you expect. It’s worth having your attorney review how your home and other major assets are titled, not just what your will says about them.
4. You moved to a new state. Estate planning documents that were valid where they were signed are usually still recognized after a move, but every state has its own rules and its own priorities. A plan drafted elsewhere may not address issues that matter here, or may use formalities that are different from what’s expected locally. A move is a good opportunity to have your documents reviewed by an attorney familiar with the law where you live now.
5. A named executor, trustee, or guardian died, moved, or is no longer the right choice. An outdated fiduciary designation is one of the most common issues we see in probate and trust administration. If the person you named years ago has passed away, moved away, or is simply no longer someone you’d trust with the role today, your plan needs a replacement named, not a gap for the court to fill.
6. Your assets or business situation changed significantly. New retirement accounts, a business you started or sold, real estate purchases, or a meaningful increase in net worth are all reasons to confirm that your beneficiary designations, trust funding, and overall structure still make sense. Assets titled incorrectly, or accounts with outdated beneficiaries, can end up passing outside your will entirely, sometimes to the wrong person.
7. It’s simply been more than three to five years. Even without a major life event, laws change, family dynamics evolve, and documents that once felt current can quietly drift out of step with what you’d actually want.
None of these situations require starting from scratch. Most can be addressed with a straightforward update, but each one is a reason to have a conversation before, not after, it matters.
If any of these apply to you, our team at Eastham Law Offices is here to help. Call our office at 561-395-6800 to schedule a review of your existing documents, or reach out through our website to get started.