Outdated Estate Plan Review, Trust Review

How Often Should You do an Estate Plan Review?

Outdated Estate Plan?
An Estate Plan Review Helps You Deal with Life Changes

Once you have your estate plan drafted and and your selected assets funded into your Revocable Living Trust, you can’t simply throw your estate planning documents into a drawer and forget about them.

If some years have passed since you funded your Trust, or signed all the various Estate Planning documents, there may have been changes in the laws coupled with critical changes in yours’ and your loved one’s life circumstances. That means that your estate plan is now out of date and out of tune with the realities of your life situation. An estate plan review or trust review is needed. Your estate plan might need a legal tune-up.

Don’t worry, we make the review process straight-forward and if changes are necessary we provide expert, yet affordable legal services.

Do you Have a Trust?  –  Is it Outdated?  –  Have there been “Life Changes?”

Here are some things to consider that may warrant an estate plan review

If you have recently married, divorced or widowed, had a child or grandchild, one or more of your children became legal adults, purchased a home or other property, inherited some money, or experienced some other significant life change, now is the perfect time to review your Will, Trust or Estate Plan to make sure it reflects your current circumstances and addresses your long term wishes and desires. Orange County Estate Plan Review Lawyer, David Crockett, strives to remain in touch with Trust and Estate Planning clients because he knows that “life happens” requiring minor –but necessary– changes to estate plans every so often.

Trust and estate planning lawyer, David Crockett focuses primarily on Trusts, Probate and other instruments of Estate Planning, he keeps abreast of the latest estate planning options available, court rulings and congressional rulings to better serve his clients and protect their estates

If you have an existing Estate Plan, take a short quiz to find out if outdated:

 

• Is your trust more than 5 years old? If so, it may be time to review your trust to ensure that it up-to-date and satisfies your goals.
• Does your trust up to date with technological advances in determining family relationships such as DNA testing?
• Does your trust have provisions to prevent runaway and excessive trustees fees?
• Does your trust have an up to date legally enforceable “no contest” clause?
• If you have minor children, does your estate plan specifically name Guardians for them? If so, are you still happy with the choices of guardian(s) nominated?
• Since the creation of your estate plan, are your children now adults? If so, it may be beneficial to name them as your Health Care Agents or successor Trustees of your trust.
• If you have a Trust, are there any assets that you initially forgot or other assets that have not been transferred into your Trust? If that is the case, it is critical that your Trust is fully-funded so as to avoid probate.
• Is there any overlooked or new personal property that you would like to be distributed to specific children or other individuals that have not been clearly specified in your planning documents?
• Since completing your estate plan, have you been married, divorced or widowed?
• Since completing your estate plan, have you had children or grandchildren?
• Since completing your estate plan, have any of your children been married, divorced or passed away?
• Have you placed any accounts or property in joint ownership with others? If so, there may be unintended long term tax and inheritance consequences.
• Have you bought or sold a house or other piece of property since your planning documents were signed?
• Is estate large enough to be subject to the 40% federal estate tax? If so, there are steps that can be taken to minimize the impact of estate taxes.
• Is your Power of Attorney document for financial decisions older than 5 years? If “yes,” this document should be updated to give your agent specific powers in the event of your disability or incapacity.
• Is your Power of Attorney document for health care decisions older than 5 years or specifically before 2004? If “yes,” this document should be updated to give your health care agent powers in the event you cannot make medical decisions on your own behalf.

 

If you have answered ‘YES’ to any of these questions – we strongly recommend that you schedule an estate plan review appointment. As always, we will review your documents at an introductory meeting for free!

Free Estate Plan Review Meeting

I encourage you to reach out to make that free Estate Plan review meeting with me by calling (949) 851-1771. There is absolutely no pressure whatsoever. Typically, people will want to sit down with a trust and estate planning lawyer to review their existing estate plan or discuss what types of alternative trust(s) might be better-suited for your ever-changing life situation. I am pleased to offer that service to residents of Orange County and beyond.

If it is late at night or inconvenient to call me, please fill out my online case evaluation form. This form comes directly to my desk. I will contact you the minute I see it.

Office Location and Map

We are located near the Orange County California John Wayne Airport. My office is catty-corner from Fletcher-Jones Motorcars; —right behind the rear entrance of Newport Lexus on Dove Street. Here is a picture of my office building and a Google Map to get your bearings.