Patricia wrote her will in 1998. It was a good will. She named her sister as executor, left everything to her husband, and listed her two young children as contingent beneficiaries. She put it in a drawer and felt good about it.
Twenty-five years later, her husband had passed. Her sister had moved out of state and was dealing with her own health issues. One of her children had struggled with addiction for years. And Patricia had inherited a rental property she’d never expected to own.
The will in that drawer didn’t reflect any of it.
Life moves fast. Families change. People you trusted move away or pass on. Kids grow up — and sometimes, the inheritance you planned for a 10-year-old isn’t the right structure for a 35-year-old with complicated circumstances. Assets come and go. Tax laws shift.
Estate planning attorneys often suggest revisiting your plan every few years — or sooner if something significant happens. A marriage or divorce. A new grandchild. A death in the family. A big change in your finances. A move to a new state.
Patricia came in and we updated everything. Her son’s share was placed in a trust structure that gave him access to support without handing over a lump sum all at once. She named a new executor who could actually serve. We accounted for the rental property.
She told me afterward that she’d been meaning to do it for years but kept thinking her old will was ‘good enough.’
‘Good enough’ is a hard thing to test after you’re gone.
Your plan should grow with you. Let’s make sure it does.