Your Estate Plan Has an Expiration Date (Sort Of)
If you signed your will, set up a trust, or named a healthcare proxy a few years ago and tucked the paperwork into a drawer, you’re not alone. Most people treat estate planning like a home renovation: a big project, completed once, then forgotten. The problem is that life doesn’t sit still, and neither should the documents meant to protect it. So how often should you actually revisit your plan? There’s no single number that fits everyone, but there are patterns worth paying attention to.
Life Events That Should Trigger a Review
Think of certain milestones as built-in reminders to pull your documents back out. These typically include:
- Marriage, divorce, or remarriage
- The birth or adoption of a child or grandchild
- The death of a spouse, beneficiary, or named executor
- A significant change in assets, such as buying property or starting a business
- Moving to or from New York State
- A meaningful change in health for you or someone named in your plan
Any one of these can shift who you’d want managing your affairs or inheriting your assets. A power of attorney naming an ex-spouse, for instance, rarely reflects anyone’s current wishes.
Why New York City Adds Its Own Wrinkle
Estate planning in NYC isn’t quite the same as estate planning anywhere else. Real estate values shift quickly here, cooperative and condominium ownership comes with its own transfer rules, and many residents hold property across multiple boroughs or even multiple states. On top of that, New York imposes its own estate tax separate from the federal one, and the exemption threshold is adjusted periodically. According to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, the state’s basic exclusion amount is reviewed and updated, which means a plan built around last year’s numbers may not reflect this year’s reality. If your estate’s value is anywhere near that threshold, even small changes in law can have outsized effects.
Even Without a Big Life Change, Time Still Matters
Here’s a question worth asking yourself honestly: when’s the last time you actually reread your will? Even if nothing dramatic has happened in your life, a general checkup every three to five years is a reasonable habit. Laws change, financial institutions update their requirements for trusts and beneficiary forms, and the people you named as executor or trustee may no longer be the best fit, whether because of distance, health, or simply a falling out. An outdated plan doesn’t always fail loudly. Sometimes it just quietly fails to do what you intended, and nobody notices until it’s too late to fix.
Ready to Take a Closer Look at Your Plan?
An estate plan isn’t a one-time checkbox; it’s closer to a living document that should grow alongside your life. Whether you’re due for a routine review or you’ve had a major life change since you last updated your will, trust, or power of attorney, it’s worth taking a fresh look sooner rather than later. As Brooklyn estate planning attorneys, our team Yeung & Associates, PLLC has helped New Yorkers keep their plans current, clear, and aligned with their goals. If it’s been a while since you’ve reviewed yours, we invite you to contact us so we can help you figure out what, if anything, needs updating.
Source:
tax.ny.gov/pit/estate/etidx.htm