5 Reasons to Update Your Estate Planning

Every good estate planning lawyer in Manhattan knows that no one wants to think about two things: death and taxes. If you mustered up the courage to create an estate plan, good for you.

But just having an estate plan is hardly enough to keep everything in order for your family and heirs.

It is advised to update your estate plan documents every three to five years or after any drastic life changes. If you have not updated your papers in a while, it might be an excellent idea to contact the best estate planning attorney in Manhattan and review your plan.

If it has been at least three years or there have been major changes in your life since you created an estate plan in Manhattan, you might want to consider updating your plan to make sure that it reflects your current intentions and goals.

These are the top five reasons why you should consider making changes to your estate planning Manhattan documents:

1. You Have Minor Children

It is recommended to update your estate plan if you (a) have minor children or (b) children were born after you created an estate plan.

An estate plan should address two elements:

• The care and custody of your children should both parents die or become mentally incapacitated; and
• The distribution and management of the assets that your children will inherit.

If you have minor children, then writing a will becomes a fundamental part of your estate planning documents. The will is used to name a guardian for small children. In other words, by writing a will, you can choose the person who will make decisions about your child’s education, upbringing, care, and other aspects if you die or become incapacitated.

For those who do not have a will, the court has a special procedure for naming a guardian, but there is a risk that you or your children will not be happy with the court’s choice of the guardian.

2. Your Estate is Worth More Than $5.74 Million

The federal estate plan law exempts estates up to $11.4 million in value, but New York taxes estates of more than $5.74, according to Nolo.

In other words, for deaths after January 1, 2019, you may still owe an estate tax to New York even if your estate is not large enough for federal estate tax ($11.4 million).

If your assets are significant, it is advised to consult an estate planning attorney in Manhattan to plan for taxes and ensure that your assets will be left to your heirs.

3. You Have Sizeable Retirement Plans

A beneficiary designation is the most critical controlling element in your asset distribution. Therefore, your retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and annuities will be paid to the beneficiary named on the account at the time of your death, regardless of what your trust or will say.

That is why you should review your current estate planning Manhattan papers to make sure that your beneficiaries are up to date on each account.

4. You Need a Long-Term Plan for Your Care

You grow older by the year, which is why it is perfectly normal to be worried about long-term care costs. If your current estate plan does not incorporate decisions regarding your health and medical care in the event of a serious medical condition, you might want to revise and update the plan.

For example, if something happens to you, do you intend to stay in your home? Do you want to move closer to your children? Do you have long term health insurance, and are you eligible for Medicaid benefits?
These and many other questions should be addressed in your estate planning documents.

5. You Need to Change the Executor or Trustees

If the executor or trustees of your choice were appropriate years ago when you created your current estate plan, they might no longer be the right appointments.

Unfortunately, many people do not put a lot of thought into these appointments, which is why they end up choosing the wrong executors and trustees. There also cases when circumstances change, and the people appointed in your estate plan have moved away, passed away, or you no longer communicate with them.

Circumstances change, and so should your estate plan to reflect these changes. Contact the best estate planning lawyer in Manhattan to discuss whether you need to update your estate plan. If you, on the other hand, have never had an estate plan in the first place, now is the time to create one.

Here at Trusts and Estate, our Manhattan estate planning attorney Marianna Schwartsman will put your mind at ease and make sure that you have an up-to-date and valid estate planning papers.