The process of estate planning is just that: a process. If you truly want to be prepared every step of the way, you should not just create a living trust and then forget about it.
Life does not stand still. The estate plan that you initially put into place will reflect the circumstances of your life as they stood at that time.
Over the years, there may be additions and subtractions to the family, changes in your marital status, and improvements in your financial profile. All of these things are triggers that would logically necessitate estate plan revisions.
Many people decide to utilize revocable living trusts when they find out about the probate process. If you maintain personal possession of all of your property and arrange for its distribution through the utilization of a last will, no one will receive an inheritance until the estate has been probated.
This time lag can span anywhere from several months to even multiple years in some cases.
If you have a trust that you just stuffed away in a drawer somewhere years ago, it may be obsolete. Your trustee may no longer be able to serve, and your beneficiary designations may not reflect your current wishes.
Over the years you may have acquired property that you never placed into the trust. And, depending on your exact financial situation, the revocable living trust may no longer be truly appropriate given your status.
If you haven’t looked over your trust terms in a while, you may want to take a moment to set up an estate plan review with your estate planning lawyer sooner rather than later .
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