When people need to update their estate plan

Ohio residents may assume that once they have created a will, they no longer need to worry about their estate plan. However, there are many changes in people’s lives that may necessitate a revision of their will or the preparation of a new one to ensure that their wishes are carried out after their death. Some of the common reasons can include a change in marital status, the birth of a child or a financial windfall.

Both marriage and divorce are times that someone should change their will. When someone marries, they are likely to want to name their spouse as a beneficiary, but if the marriage fails, a person is liable to want to remove their spouse from their will. Related to this, the birth of a child is a good time to update a will to add this person as an heir and to name an guardian who will raise them if both parents die.

Coming into a large amount of money or property is another time that people should look into updating their will. They may want to adjust their estate plans in order to reduce their heirs’ estate tax burden if they are passing on a large amount of property.

A will isn’t the only way that people can determine how their property will be distributed upon their death. Trusts are also able to distribute assets to beneficiaries, and they give people greater options for how this is handled. Whether people will benefit from a trust or can get by with just a will depends on their particular situation, and the advice of an estate planning attorney can be helpful in this regard.