Do you know when to review your estate planning documents and, if necessary, make changes or updates to your Will and other documents?

Have you already gone through the process of completing your estate plan? Maybe you have your Will done? Great! You’re already ahead of the game! But when did you do it? Do you know when to review your estate planning documents, and if necessary, make changes or updates to your Will and other documents? We recommend you do so every three to five years or each time you have a major life event like a marriage, divorce, death, birth or adoption of a child, etc.

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR WILL. If at some point you’ve taken the time (and likely spent the money) to go through the steps and complete your estate plan, you know that the process can be difficult, and for some, confusing or stressful. Estate planning is an important part of safeguarding your loved ones and protecting your legacy. But it does no good if it’s outdated or incomplete due to changes in life that aren’t reflected in your plan.

There are three ways to handle major life events that require updates to your estate plan:

* Create a Codicil (which is simply adding an addendum to a Will). Think of this like a quick, easy update or small change to your Will. It’s simple to do, and an effective way to ensure your estate plan remains up-to-date as things change in your life. A good example of an appropriate time to change your Will would be when a beneficiary gets married and you want to update their name. Another time this would suffice is if you want to change the person you named as Personal Representative. Creating a Codicil is easy. Just formally write down any specific updates, whether that means changing something existing or taking something out, sign it, and have your signature witnessed and notarized. Be sure to keep the Codicil together with your Will - upon your passing, the two will be read as one document. NOTE: Be sure you understand your state’s laws about amending a legal document like a Will. In some instances, you could inadvertently completely invalidate your Will if you update it the wrong way.

* Write a new Will. You can always go the route of writing a new Will entirely. Sometimes, this is the easiest option if you have significant or substantial changes that need to be made. By revoking an old Will and replacing it with a new one, you can eliminate any potential confusion or anyone contesting the Codicil. Writing a new Will might be the best way to go if you’re changing anything big, like changing a beneficiary.

* Make a personal property gift list. If your original Will references what’s known as a "gift list," you can just replace it the gift list with a new, updated one. Note that while a gift list replacement doesn’t necessarily need to be witnessed or notarized, it must either be in your handwriting or signed by you and it must describe the item given and the recipient of the gift "with reasonable certainty."

WHEN TO CHANGE YOUR WILL. Just knowing that changing a Will is fairly easy should put your mind at ease. But how do you know when to change it? Essentially, the “right” answer is this: your Will should be updated whenever you feel it’s necessary to do so. As we noted earlier, a good rule of thumb is you should at least review your estate plans every three to five years, but there’s definitely no need to wait that long should you have any major life events that warrant updates sooner. That said, there are a handful of specific times that really would dictate taking the time to review and update not just your Will, but all of your estate planning documents. These major life events could include:

* Marital changes: Marital status is one of the most obvious and common reasons for amending a Will. If you’re recently married or divorced, it’s time to revisit how your Will is written, and most likely, update it. You should know if you live in a community property or common law state as well.

* New additions: Any new additions to the family, such as the birth or adoption of children or grandchildren, would warrant an update to your Will. One note to keep in mind, unlike biological children, stepchildren do not inherit automatically. If you remarry and have a blended family and would like to include your new stepchildren in your Will, you’ll need to make changes to your existing Will.

* Familial changes: If a named beneficiary passes away, you should revise your Will to either name a new beneficiary or to redistribute inheritances amongst remaining beneficiaries. Likewise, if your named Personal Representative dies or becomes incapacitated, you’ll need to choose another one to take their place. Other changes that would be important could include selling or buying real estate, selling or buying a business, or if you've changed your mind about leaving gifts to certain people or charities.

* Before a trip: Planning a long or extensive trip, whether it be for business or for pleasure, would be a good reason to review your Will and update it if needed.

COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT AMENDING YORU WILL. It’s normal to feel a little anxiety about the prospect of having to change your Will. But most people find that, armed with the right information, they feel confident and ready to tackle the task. We’d even bet that once you’re done, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to do it in the first place!

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO AMEND YOUR WILL? The cost associated with changing a Will can vary based on a number of factors. Did you plan to use a lawyer or do you prefer DIY? How complex are the changes? What state do you live in? These types of questions must be answered in order to accurately estimate the cost of amending a Will.

Lawyers can charge a wide range of fees, and it all depends on how extensive the changes are that you want to make to your documents. Of course, it is possible to make changes completely on your own, but many people are nervous about doing so and find they have a nagging fear that they may not have done everything they should have so their new Will is valid.

CAN I MAKE HANDWRITTEN CHANGES ON MY EXISTING WILL? Nope.

HOW DO YOU REVOKE A WILL? To revoke a Will, you can do a few different things. Technically, making a new Will will revoke your current Will, as long as the new Will says somethign to the effect of, "I revoke all previous Wills and Codicils." Of course, you could also take extreme measures like destroying the original Will.

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS AFTER UPDATING YOUR WILL? Once your Will is updated, you still have to make sure you have the proper signatures and witnesses to satisfy your state laws. You should get your witnesses' signatures notarized so that the Will will be "self proving," and you will want to store it somewhere safe. Be sure to let someone trusted know where your Will and other estate planning documents are located.

It’s a good idea to review all of your estate planning documents from time to time. Knowing what you need to do to update your Will (and when to do it) is important. Whether you just had one major life event, or if you haven’t revisited your Will in many years and a number of things have changed, keeping your Will up-to-date is an essential part of protecting your family after you’re gone. Things change in life, but changing a Will doesn’t have to be hard, time-consuming, or costly!

Whether you have an existing Will that needs a refresh or you’re ready to create a new Will, give us a call at 253.858.5434 to find out how we can be of service to you, your family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers. We represent clients throughout Washington and Idaho and are available to meet in person, by phone, or via video conference.