End of the Year Estate Planning – Are Your Documents Updated?

As a part of the Phoenix estate planning process you should update your estate documents every year with any new assets or updates to your financial life that need to be accounted for. It usually works well to do this once at the end of the year or at the start of the next year, but you can update your Phoenix estate planning documents throughout the year as needed.

There are plenty of reasons to update your Phoenix estate planning documents including any of these major life changes and other changes:

Marriage or divorce – your Phoenix estate planning documents need to be updated if there has been either of these two events in your life.
Birth or death of a family member – you will need to update Phoenix estate planning documents that address beneficiaries if there has been a birth or death in your family.
Changes in executors and agents – you may want to change the persons who you have previously named as executors of your estate. You may also want to update your designated guardians for your children, your trustees, or your health care agent for your medical power of attorney.
Moved to a different state – if you moved from Arizona to a new state during the past year you will need to update your Phoenix estate planning documents to include the laws of that particular state.
Changes in your portfolio – with substantial changes to your financial assets and financial portfolio you will need to update your Phoenix estate planning documents to reflect those changes.
Adding a new trust – you can add a new trust to your estate at any time during the year of course, but you may want to add a one at the same time that you update your Phoenix estate planning documents.
Changing asset distribution – if you want to change how your beneficiaries receive their inheritance you can update your estate documents to create a new trust or change the terms of your current trusts.

There are plenty of other reasons why you may want to update your Phoenix estate planning documents such as tax law changes, insurance plan purchases, and more. As the year comes to a close you can speak with a Phoenix estate planning professional for advice on whether or not you need to update your documents.

Need Help?

If you are not sure as to what legal document you currently have contact one of our professionals to help you with your planning needs. They will make sure you have all of your grounds covered and have the right legal documents that best suite your wants and needs.