When to update your estate plan

There is no expiration date on a Michigan will or trust. An old document is still valid , that is exactly the problem. It will be carried out as written, naming people who have died, left the family, or should no longer be in charge.

Events that call for a review right away

Family changes

• marriage, divorce, separation or remarriage; yours or a beneficiary's;
• a birth, adoption or a new grandchild you want included;
• the death of a spouse, child, trustee, guardian or agent;
• a beneficiary who develops a disability, an addiction, creditor trouble, or who becomes estranged;
• a child turning eighteen, who now needs their own powers of attorney;
• a new blended family; see planning for blended families .

Financial and property changes

• buying or selling a home, a cottage up north, or property in another state; new real estate frequently never makes it into the trust;
• starting, selling or restructuring a business;
• a significant inheritance, settlement or retirement rollover;
• new accounts at a different bank or brokerage;
• paying off or taking on substantial debt.

Location and law

• moving to Michigan from another state, or leaving Michigan; documents are usually honored across state lines, but medical forms and deeds are state-specific in practice;
• changes to tax or Medicaid rules that affect your strategy;
• an attorney, accountant or trustee who has retired.

Review the plan on a schedule too

Even with nothing dramatic happening, look at your plan every three to five years. A short checklist:

• Are the people named still the right people, and still living and able?
• Are there at least two successors named for each role?
• Has every asset been retitled into the trust; including any property bought since signing? See funding your trust.
• Do the beneficiary forms on every retirement account and policy match the plan, with contingent beneficiaries named?
• Does anyone know where the originals are kept and how to reach your attorney?
• Is there a current list of accounts, insurance and digital access?

Amend or start over?

Small corrections are handled by a codicil to a will or an amendment to a trust. When the changes are extensive; a new marriage, a different distribution scheme, several stacked amendments already; a restated trust or a new will is cleaner and less likely to be contested. A restatement keeps the original trust in place, so assets already titled in it do not need to be moved again.

Have an old plan looked at

Attorney Badri Yono Jr. of Foster Swift Collins & Smith, P.C. reviews existing Michigan plans and will say plainly when yours still works and only needs a beneficiary form fixed.

Request a consultation

This article is general information about Michigan law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.