As a resident of New Jersey, you have worked hard to get your estate to where it is at today. You want to protect it through a carefully crafted estate plan. This ensures that your loved ones can enjoy your assets and a smooth, stress-free transfer.
But to do this, you must stay on top of your estate plan. You cannot just create one and let it sit indefinitely. Instead, you need to know when you should update it.
No right time to review your estate plan
Forbes goes into detail on the right times to update your estate plan. There is no specific “right time”, and there are no laws dictating when you should or should not update your plan. You can update it any time you wish, for any reason you can think of. Many people do the opposite and never update their estate plan, or only update it once or twice in the course of their life.
However, experts suggest that you update your plan any time there is a major change in your life. In particular, they suggest focusing on your family relations and your financial situation. This is because family relations affect who gets what, and your financial situation affects what you have to give.
What life changes can lead to updates?
Some examples of situations where an estate plan may need some updating include:
- The death or divorce of a spouse
- Remarrying
- The birth or adoption of a child
- Coming into a large sum of money
- Falling into debt or filing bankruptcy
Also, experts suggest that you review your plan every 3 to 5 years even if you have not gone through any life changes. This gives you the chance to refresh your memory and make sure everything in your plan still aligns with what you want in the current day.