Creating an estate plan is a huge step you can take toward managing your affairs later in life and after your death. Of course, creating the estate plan is only one part of the entire process, even if some mistakenly believe it to serve as the end goal.
You must keep your estate plan up to date throughout your life, as this is the only way to ensure it accurately reflects your desires at your death. But how do you know when it is time to update it?
Evolutions in aspects of your life
Forbes focuses on some of the areas of estate planning you should focus on. They also look into reasons why you should update your estate plan, to begin with. The main reason is the fact that life is constantly changing and evolving. The things that applied to one stage of your life may not apply at other stages in the future.
For example, let us look at two of the most evolving aspects of your life: your assets and your relationships. Tracking assets serves as an important part of estate planning because this determines what everyone will receive in the division of your estate. If you go into bankruptcy, you will have fewer assets to divide. On the other hand, if you come into an inheritance or sell an asset, you will also need to revamp your divisions for the opposite reason.
Focusing on beneficiaries
Relationships determine your beneficiaries, as well as key figures like your executor and healthcare proxy. Beneficiaries simply benefit from your estate and often include your family and loved ones who will inherit property, money and so on. Key figures have an active role in your end-of-life process and should always remain trustworthy throughout your life. If changes occur to alter your relationships and make you less likely to trust these people or want them to receive your assets, you will likely want to update your plan.
