Wisconsin Estate Planning: “When Should I Update My Estate Plan?”

For many, the New Year is a time for reflecting on past milestones and setting goals for the future.  This process can raise anxiety, particularly if you are unsure if your estate plan still meets your needs.  Certain significant lifetime events occurring after your current plan was created may cause a need to modify your plan, with some examples including:

• Changes in financial or personal lifetime goals;
• A career change, promotion, or change in a business you or your spouse own;
• The purchase of a home or other major asset, taking on a large loan or other significant financial liability, or major changes in the value of asset you currently hold;
• Marriage or divorce;
• Illness or disability;
• Changes in your life insurance or long-term care insurance coverage;
• Receipt of a large gift or inheritance;
• The addition of new children or grandchildren to your family, or changes in children’s or grandchildren’s educational, medical or supportive needs;
• Death or change in circumstance of a guardian, executor, or trustee you previously named; and
• Changes in your number of dependents.

If you have experienced one or more of the events listed above, it may be time to schedule a confidential consultation with the team at Bender, Larson, Chidley, Koppes, Hetfield & Associates, S.C.  We specialize in estate planning, probate law, and elder law and are prepared to provide clients with comprehensive legal solutions for their planning needs.

Start the year confidently – schedule a meeting with us today!