As you have gotten older, you may have had the importance of establishing a Last Will and Testament document stressed to you. But what you may not yet understand is how it is equally important to review your established will every couple of years and update it as seen fit. Well, with that being put into consideration, please read on to discover the primary reasons for updating a will document and how a seasoned Putnam County wills attorney at the Law Office of Andres D. Gil, PLLC can help you do so in a way that is legally valid and enforceable in New York State.

What are the primary reasons for creating a will for your estate plan?

Before we can get into the importance of updating your Last Will and Testament document, we must explain the necessity of crafting one in the first place. As a general statement, if you incorporate nothing else into your estate plan, you should at the very least have a will. The most basic explanations for this are as follows:

  • Your will may allow you to instruct which of your beneficiaries is supposed to inherit which of your assets, and in what manner.
  • Your will may allow you to name an executor to administer your assets amongst your beneficiaries in your desired manner.
  • Your will may allow you to reduce statutory estate taxes or coordinate funding to alleviate your beneficiaries’ financial obligations towards it.
  • Your will may allow you to disclose end-of-life care instructions to relieve your beneficiaries from the stress and burden of such decisions.

What are the primary reasons for updating your estate plan’s will?

When considering when to update your Last Will and Testament document, you must look back at why you established one in the first place. For example, at the time, you may have designated an executor whom you thought to be trusted with this great responsibility. However, over time, they may show their true colors to you, so to speak, and indicate their capability of betrayal. Or, they may eventually admit their hesitation with taking on this role, or exhibit a mental incapacity that inhibits their ability to do so. In any of these scenarios, you may have to update your will by removing your original trustee and adding a new one.

In another example, you may have thought you fairly and perfectly allocated your assets to your designated beneficiaries. However, in the years to follow, you may have welcomed a new child into your family unit. Or, your now-adult children may have given you grandchildren. Well then, you may need to circle back to your will to include your newly desired beneficiaries. Even further, you must recalculate how you wish to distribute your estate accordingly.

In short, you may update your will by either attaching a codicil to your existing will or revoking your existing will and creating an entirely new one. If you have any outstanding questions yet to be answered, please ask a competent estate planning attorney in Putnam County. Anyone at the Law Office of Andres D. Gil, PLLC can offer the support you need.