Your Estate Plan needs to be regularly reviewed and updated. Three major parts of your Estate Plan are constantly moving. The first is the relationships with the people who have roles as Trustee, Personal Representative, Health Care Agent and Financial Power of Attorney and other roles. Those people in those roles may need to be replaced because those relationships have changed.
The second piece of Estate Planning that is always moving is what you own. There wasn’t a Dell Computer stock fifteen years ago, and there may not be a Dell Computer stock fifteen years from now. You may own a different residence, be at different banks or different brokerage houses. People inNorth Carolinaare still shocked that Wachovia Bank is gone. That was an institution that mostNorth Caroliniansgrew up with, and it’s still a surprise and shock that the Fifth biggest Bank in the U.S is gone.
The third part of Estate Planning is that the Laws are always changing. We will have a different version of the Tax Code in the next year. Congress and the White House are negotiating back and forth on the current Tax Laws. The tax cuts that were put in place in 2001 will expire on December 31, 2012. Taxes will go up across the board on almost every level. There is also still the concern that the Alternative Minimum Tax has not been “patched” which is done every year to factor in costs of living increases. Therefore three things are always moving in your Estate Plan: (1) Your relationships; (2) What you own; and (3) The Laws (Federal and State).
You need to keep your Estate Plan current. It is not a one time transaction. You should meet with your Estate Planning Attorney at least every four years. That Attorney should be working with your Financial Advisor, Accountant and Insurance Professional to make sure that your Estate Plan matches up with your Financial Plan and goals.
The Life Plan System™ is our formal legal update program that we use to keep our clients Estate Plans current to match the changing Laws.
At the Law Firm of Steven Andrew Jackson, Attorney and Counsellor at Law, we have helped hundreds of families protect themselves and their loved ones, avoid Estate Taxes and Probate Costs, and keep their Estate Plans current with the law through The Customized Protective Estate Planning Solution™.