Our Nevada readers who have created an estate plan in the past are aware of all the time and effort they put into doing so. However, just because you have done this in the past does not mean you are done looking over your will, trusts, power of attorney, and other documents.

There may be a sense of accomplishment associated with the completion of the estate planning process, but long after your files are initially locked away you will need to revisit this many times. It is dangerous to think that the estate plan you created many years ago is the same as it should be today. At some point in the future, you have to review and update your plan, ensuring that what made sense back then also makes sense now.

It is not uncommon for an outdated estate plan to lead to disputes between family members. The real tragedy with this is that the situation could have been easily avoided, if people had revisited their estate plan to double check their facts and figures.

There are many times when you should review your estate plan and make potential updates, including when there is a big change in your life, such as a divorce or new business venture. Along with this, you should review your plan anytime there are new tax laws implemented in your state.

All of the time you put into estate planning in the past is not lost, however, you should review your plan often to guarantee that it still makes sense for what you are trying to accomplish.

Source: Forbes, “Why You Should Update Your Estate Plan“, Russ Alan Prince, July 3, 2014