Once you establish your estate plan, it is natural to second guess yourself or otherwise change your mind about certain terms and conditions you set forth. This is not to mention the significant life changes that you may undergo, which may cause your standing estate plan to no longer make sense. With this, you must understand that your estate planning documents, especially your will, are not necessarily set in stone. Continue reading to learn how to edit your estate plan throughout your lifetime and how an experienced New York City wills attorney at Zimmet Law Group, P.C. can guide you in doing so.
Is it possible to change my will during my lifetime?
Put simply, you may change your will throughout your lifetime while you still maintain the mental capacity to do so. Without further ado, below are specific examples of what facets you may want to change:
- If you recently got divorced, you may edit your will so that your former spouse is no longer a designated beneficiary.
- If you recently bought a new property, you may edit your will to incorporate it and appoint a beneficiary to inherit it.
- If certain tax or inheritance laws have changed in New York State, you may edit your will to reflect this.
- If your healthcare wishes for end-of-life care have changed, you may edit your will to reflect this.
- If your personal wishes for anything else have changed, you may edit your will to reflect this.
That said, you may make such edits to your will by establishing a codicil, establishing a personal property memorandum, or establishing a new will altogether. And similar to when you initially established your will, you may need to make edits in the presence of two witnesses and obtain their signatures afterward.
Overall, even if you have not undergone any major life changes, it is recommended that you look back at your will every three to five years to make edits as necessary.
What other estate planning documents can I edit during my lifetime?
Alongside your will, you may go back to edit your revocable living trust; so long as you still have the mental capacity to do so. Of note, as the name may suggest, the same does not apply to an irrevocable trust.
In addition, you may change your non-probate designations. Examples of this include the beneficiaries you list in your retirement account and/or your life insurance policy.
However, this is not to say that changing the aforementioned estate planning documents will be straightforward. So when it comes down to it, you need a skilled New York City estate planning attorney by your side. This is why you must contact Zimmet Law Group, P.C. today.
