Updating an Estate Plan in Coral Gables

It is essential to have a thorough estate plan that clearly states what you would like to happen to your assets after your death. When creating your estate plan, you want to ensure that you safeguard your interests and protect your future heirs and beneficiaries. However, your initial estate plan will not necessarily be your final plan. As you get older and things change in your life, you need to periodically review the plan and make the appropriate alterations.

Our trustworthy estate planning attorney could meet with you to review your goals, and help with updating an estate plan in Coral Gables.

Reasons to Update an Estate Plan

During a lifetime, an individual’s personal and financial circumstances can change dramatically. What and who they cared so deeply about in their younger years might not be as meaningful as they get older. Objectives and loved ones can change, and estate plans should also change to reflect those shifts.

Beneficiary Change

An individual in Coral Gables might want to modify their estate plan to change their beneficiaries after a major life event, such as a marriage, divorce, business expansion, birth or adoption of a child, or the death of a loved one. Sometimes, they have a serious falling out with one family member, and they decide to reduce that person’s future inheritance. A qualified local lawyer could help them update the appropriate documents to reflect this change.

Digital and Other Assets

People today are continuously accumulating new digital assets, which includes new accounts or services online, or even cryptocurrency. They should review these digital assets regularly to ensure that they leave clear instructions with all account numbers and passwords so their loved ones can handle these assets.

As people acquire or relinquish various assets, such as a home, or stocks and bonds, they should update their estate plan to reflect their full portfolio.

Power of Attorney or Personal Representative

When circumstances change, an individual might need to change the person they nominated as their power of attorney, health care surrogate, successor trustee, or personal representative. These are all positions of great importance giving the designated individuals that ability toto make legal or medical decisions for someone who is incapacitated or, in some cases, deceased.

An experienced lawyer could meet with an individual to review every aspect of their estate plan and confirm it still reflects their intentions, and then address what needs to change.

How to Change an Estate Plan

Florida law allows people to modify various documents in their estate plan to adjust to their changed circumstances. People have choices when it comes to changing the terms of a will. A Will can be revoked with a new Will. More commonly, an individual decides they want to keep the majority of their will, but add or alter certain terms. If they choose to modify certain sections while preserving most of the will, they can amend their will with a codicil, which is a legal document that allows modifications.

Trusts

A person can also update their trusts by adding amendments, which alter specific sections of a trust document to better reflect their new intentions. A Coral Gables-based lawyer understands how important it is for an updated estate plan to reflect a person’s current wishes. It is crucial to have a clear understanding of what is important to an individual, and what they want their legacy to be.

Work with a Coral Gables Attorney on Updating Your Estate Plan

Planning how to distribute an estate should be an ongoing process, and not a one-time event. Instead of relying on the estate plan you drafted years ago, you should routinely review your goals and wishes.

Periodically updating an estate plan in Coral Gables, with the assistance of Veliz & Associates, P.A., is a good idea that you should consider. Work with someone local who can deliver thoughtful advice and legal knowledge to help you accomplish your goals. Schedule your case evaluation today.

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