“An estate plan is the guide to how you want your personal and financial affairs to be handled, in the event of your incapacity or death. As life changes, your guide changes with it.”
One of the most common mistakes in estate planning is thinking of the estate plan, as being completed and never needing to be reviewed. That is similar to taking your car for an oil change and then simply never returning for another oil change. The years go by, your life changes and you need an estate plan review.
The question posed by the New Hampshire Union Leader in the article “It’s important to periodically review your estate plan” is not if you need to have your estate plan reviewed, but when.
Most people get their original wills and other documents from their estate planning attorney, put them into their safe deposit box or a fire-safe file drawer and forget about them. There are no laws governing when these documents should be reviewed, so whether or when to review the estate is completely up to the individual. That often leads to unintended consequences that can cause the wrong person to inherit, fracture the family and leave heirs with a large tax liability.
A better idea: review the estate plan on a regular basis. For some people with complicated lives and assets, that means once a year. For others, every three or four years works. Some reviews are triggered by changes in life, including:
- Marriage or divorce
- Death
- Large changes in the size of the estate
- A significant increase in debt
- The death of an executor, guardian or trustee
- Birth or adoption of children or grandchildren
- Change in career, good or bad
- Retirement
- Health crisis
- Changes in tax laws
- Changes in relationships to beneficiaries and heirs
- Moving to another state or purchasing property in another state
- Receiving a sizable inheritance
What should you be thinking about, as you review your estate plan? Here are some suggestions:
Have there been any changes to your relationships with family members?
Are any family members facing challenges or does anyone have special needs?
Are there children from a previous marriage and what do their lives look like?
Are the people you named for various roles—power of attorney, executor, guardian and trustees—still the people you want making decisions and acting on your behalf?
Does your estate plan include a durable power of attorney for healthcare, a valid living will, or if you want this, a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order?
Has your estate plan addressed the possible need for Medicaid?
Do you know who your beneficiary designations are for your accounts and are your beneficiary designations still correct? Your beneficiaries will receive assets outside of the will and nothing you put in the will can change the distribution of those assets.
Have you aligned your assets with your estate plan? Do certain accounts pass directly to a spouse or an heir? Have you funded any trusts?
Finally, have changes in the tax laws changed your estate plan? Your estate planning attorney should look at your state, as well as federal tax liability.
Just as you can’t plant a garden once and expect it to grow and bloom forever, your estate plan needs to be reviewed, so that it can protect your interests as your life and your family’s life changes over time.
Reference: New Hampshire Union Leader (Jan. 12, 2019) “It’s important to periodically review your estate plan”
“資產計劃是您在喪失工作能力或去世時如何處理個人和財務事務的指南。隨著生活的變化，你的指引隨之改變。“
資產規劃中最常見的錯誤之一是認為資產計劃已經完成並不需要再審查。這就好像於您將汽車換油然後就不再換油了。隨著歲月流逝，你的生活起了變化，你是需要審查您的資產計劃。
New Hampshire Union Leader在“It’s important to periodically review your estate plan”一文中提出問題是您要何時去審查您的資產計劃。
大多數人從他們的資產規劃律師取得他們的遺囑和其他文件的原檔，將文件放入他們的保險箱或防火文件抽屜中接著便忘記了。沒有法律規定應何時審查這些文件，因此是否或何時審查完全取決於個人。這通常會引致意想不到的後果，導致錯誤的人繼承，破壞家庭並給繼承人帶來巨額稅務。
更好的意見是：定期審查資產計劃。對於一些生活和資產複雜的人來說，應每年審查一次。對於其他人，每三到四年審查一次。有些是因為生活起了變化而需要審查，包括：
- 婚姻或離婚
- 死亡
- 資產發生巨大變化
- 債務大幅增加
- 遺囑執行人，監護人或受託人去世
- 子女或孫兒的出生或收養
- 職業變化，無論好壞
- 退休
- 健康危機
- 稅法的變化
- 與受益人和繼承人的關係發生變化
- 搬到另一個州或在另一個州購買房產
- 繼承了可觀的遺產
在審查您的資產計劃時，您應該考慮什麼？以下是一些建議：
您與家人的關係是否有任何變化？
有沒有家人陷於困境之中或是有沒有人有特殊需求？
以前的婚姻中是否有子女，他們的生活如何？
您為各種角色命名的人 - 律師，遺囑執行人，監護人和受託人 - 仍然是您想要為您做出決定並代表您行事的人嗎？
您的資產計劃中是否包括醫療授權書，有效的遺囑，或者如果您需要，還包括DNR（不要急救指令）？
您的資產計劃中是否有提到醫療補助 (白卡) 的需求？
您知道您銀行帳戶的指定受益人是誰以及您的指定受益人是否仍然正確？您的受益人繼承這些遺囑之外的資產，而您遺囑中的內容並不會推翻這些資產的分配。
您是否將您的資產與資產計劃保持一致？某些帳戶是否直接傳給配偶或繼承人？你有把您的資產注入您的信託中嗎？
最後，稅法的變化是否改變了您的資產計劃？您的資產規劃律師應該查看您所在的州以及聯邦稅務。
正如你不能一下子建立了一個花園並期望它永遠成長和開花一樣，你的資產計劃需要進行審查，這樣可以保障你的利益，因為你的生活和家庭情況會隨著時間而變化。
參考：New Hampshire Union Leader (Jan. 12, 2019) “It’s important to periodically review your estate plan”
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