After creating an estate plan, you must then keep on top of it and ensure that it accurately reflects your life at any given point. This is where reviews come into play. Experts suggest you review your estate plan once every 3 years. This can feel overwhelming.
But there are ways that you can streamline your reviews. In doing so, tackling a review semi-regularly will feel like less of a burden and you will end up more likely to keep on top of it.
Beneficiaries
Forbes discusses the purpose of estate plan reviews and how you can streamline it. The best way to do so is by recognizing the most important aspects of your specific plan. This may differ from person to person, but generally includes beneficiaries, active participants and key components.
Beneficiaries include any person who will benefit from any part of your estate after your death. This can include relatives you wrote into your will or people who share joint bank accounts with you. It includes anyone who will inherit your retirement funds. It also includes people who are on your life insurance policies.
Active participants
Active participants play a role in your end-of-life experience. They often continue to take care of matters after your death, too. Two crucial roles include healthcare proxies and power of attorney. Your healthcare proxy will make medical decisions in your stead if you no longer can. A power of attorney handles your legal and financial matters, and often serves as a key point of contact between all parties.
Key components
Finally, key components include things like your will or trust. You need to ensure they represent your most recent life circumstances and desires. By focusing on these items first, you can cut out much unnecessary hassle tied to estate plan reviews.