A once-a-year review can go a long way in ensuring that your estate plan is up-to- date. Many financial advisors recommend that their clients review their estate plans annually, and often assist in the review. I try to send letters to my clients each year reminding them to review their estate plans, and I typically get a couple of notes in response thanking me for the reminder, and a few requests for assistance in making changes.

Recently a client who had received my letter left me this voice message:

Kevin, I got your letter about reviewing our estate plan. I’ve got my Will and Trust and other stuff here but I don’t know how to review it. Would you call me and tell me what I should be looking for?

His message hit me like a freight train. All these years I’ve been telling my clients to review their estate plans, and suddenly I realized that the suggestion is wholly inadequate. Most of my clients are no better equipped to review their estate plans than I am to inspect the HVAC system in my house. So I sent my client the suggestions below about when your lawyer should be included in the review process.

Step 1: Review Your Will and Living Trust

Begin by reading those parts of your Will and Revocable Trust, if you have one, that identify the beneficiaries who would receive your property after you have passed away. For most people this is the spouse and children, and may also include parents, other relatives, friends and charities. Be sure that you still want these beneficiaries to receive your property.

If you left any beneficiary’s inheritance to him or her in a trust fund, you should review the terms of that trust to be sure that they still are appropriate. Many parents will establish trust funds for their children so that the children would receive their inheritances in staggered distributions such as at ages 25, 30 and 35. As the children get older, some parents wish to extend those distribution ages.

Step 2: Assign Roles

Next you should check the people who you have nominated to perform certain duties after you have passed away. The typical positions are:

Ÿ         Personal Representative or Executor. The Executor’s job typically lasts six months to two years. The Executor is responsible for submitting your Will to Court, gathering your assets, paying your debts, filing your final income tax returns, filing your inheritance and estate tax returns, and distributing your property to the people you have identified to receive it under your Will and Revocable Trust.

Ÿ         Trustee. If in your Will or Revocable Trust you have directed any person’s inheritance be held in a trust fund for him or her, then the Trustee would be responsible for holding the trust property, investing it, making distributions to the beneficiary at the times and under the circumstances as directed in the trust instrument, and keeping accurate records with respect to the trust property. This job could last anywhere from a few years to many decades and even for multiple generations, depending on the specific terms of your trust.

Ÿ         Guardian. If you have children who are under age 18, then in your Will you probably nominated someone to serve as the guardian for those minor children. The guardian’s job is to step into your shoes as a surrogate parent; to take the children into their home; to love and care for them; and to raise them. Be sure that the person you nominated as guardian still is fit for that role.

Ÿ         Power of Attorney. Your documents likely include a general power of attorney, in which you identify a person to act as your agent to assist in handling your business and financial affairs in case you become ill, or are in an accident, or for any other reason are unable to handle those things yourself. Be sure that the person you have identified as your business agent or attorney-in-fact still is appropriate. If that person is your spouse, then you also should name an alternate attorney-in-fact in case you and your spouse are injured in the same accident.

Ÿ         Health Care Representative. Your documents also likely include an appointment of health care representative, in which you appoint someone to assist in making medical decisions for you if you are not able to make those decisions for yourself. Again, if you have nominated your spouse then you also should identify a successor or backup health care representative.

Ÿ         Living Will. Many people have living wills. This is a non-binding document that expresses your desires with respect to life prolonging procedures. You should read it to be sure that it reflects your current intentions.

So what do you do next?  Check back for part 2 in next month’s edition of Current in Pork.

This publication is intended for general information purposes only and does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. The reader must consult with legal counsel to determine how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to the reader’s specific circumstances.