Do I Need to Revisit My Estate Plan?

Making the decision to work with an estate planning attorney in the Oak Park area to create a will and advance directives, along with other relevant estate planning tools, is important for nearly all adults in Illinois. Yet for nearly everyone with an existing estate plan, an initial meeting (or initial few meetings) with an estate planning attorney should not be the last time you think about the documents and tools that are part of your estate plan. Circumstances can change, and unexpected life events can occur, necessitating changes to one or more of the materials in your estate plan. Accordingly, if you are wondering whether you should ever revisit your estate plan, the answer is yes. If you are currently wondering whether an event has occurred that necessitates revising a document that is part of your estate plan, it is important to talk with a lawyer.

In the meantime, our Oak Park estate planning lawyers can tell you more about some of the reasons that you will need to revisit your estate plan.

Divorce

Divorce is one of the most common and most important reasons to revisit your estate plan. For most married people in Illinois, a spouse is a primary beneficiary and may be named in both financial and health care powers of attorney. When a divorce occurs, spouses typically want to make changes so that another party will inherit their assets (other than their ex-spouse) and so that someone other than their former spouse will have the ability to make important decisions for them in the event of incapacity.

Health Changes

Has your health changed recently? If so, you might have changed your mind about certain issues pertaining to the advance directives you created with your estate planning lawyer. Or, perhaps, your original estate plan did not include advance directives, and you now want to create a healthcare power of attorney and a living will. Revisiting your estate plan is the next step.

Revising Heirs or Beneficiaries

Beyond divorce, many different changes in circumstances can result in a person changing their mind about who will inherit their property or who should be named as an insurance beneficiary. If things have changed, you should revisit your estate plan with a lawyer’s help to make any necessary revisions.

Changes in Assets

With trusts in particular, it is important to revisit your estate plan on a somewhat regular basis with your estate planning lawyer. The value of the assets contained in one or more trusts you established might have changed, or you may need to reconsider issues of taxation, for example, if assets you plan to leave through your will have increased significantly.

Contact Oak Park Estate Planning Attorney Today

Estate planning can be complex, but an experienced Oak Park estate planning lawyer at our firm can assist you. Whether you are just beginning to think about estate planning and want to learn more about drafting a will, or you have existing estate planning documents and need to revisit them with a lawyer’s help, we can speak with you today about your circumstances. Contact the Emerson Law Firm to learn more about the services we provide to clients in Oak Park and throughout the Chicago area.



See Related Blog Posts:
What Single Parents Should Consider in Estate Planning
What is the Difference Between a Will and a Living Will?

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