When To Update You Estate Plan

How Often Should You Review Your Estate Plan?

There is no universal New York law requiring an estate plan to be updated every certain number of years.

A better approach is to review the plan whenever there is a significant change in your life, family, assets, health, or planning objectives. Even when nothing significant appears to have changed, a periodic review can be useful. An older document may name people who are no longer appropriate, address assets you no longer own, omit property acquired later, rely on outdated planning assumptions, or no longer coordinate properly with beneficiary designations and account ownership. A review does not necessarily mean that every document needs to be replaced.

The purpose is to determine whether the existing plan still accomplishes what you want it to accomplish.

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Should You Update Your Estate Plan After Getting Married?

Marriage is an important reason to review an estate plan. An existing will or trust may have been created when you were single or in a different relationship. Marriage can also affect property ownership, beneficiary designations, retirement benefits, life insurance, fiduciary appointments, and rights that a surviving spouse may have under New York law.

The review should not be limited to adding a spouse's name to a will.

It may also involve:

• Your will

• Any revocable or irrevocable trusts

• Beneficiary designations

• Life insurance

• Retirement accounts

• Jointly owned property

• Your power of attorney

• Your health care proxy

• Estate and tax planning

If either spouse has children from a prior relationship, the coordination becomes particularly important because the plan may need to balance the interests of a surviving spouse with those of children or other beneficiaries.

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What Should You Review After a Divorce?

Divorce should trigger a prompt review of the entire estate plan. New York law automatically addresses certain provisions involving a former spouse, but relying on those statutory rules instead of updating the documents can create unintended results. Under New York EPTL § 5-1.4, divorce or annulment generally revokes certain revocable dispositions and appointments made for a former spouse, as well as certain nominations of the former spouse to serve as executor, trustee, guardian, agent, or in another fiduciary or representative capacity. The statute generally treats the former spouse as having predeceased the divorced individual for purposes of the affected provisions. But that does not mean divorce automatically rewrites the rest of the estate plan exactly as you would want. For example, removing a former spouse may cause a contingent beneficiary or successor fiduciary to move into a position that was never intended under the new circumstances.

A post-divorce review should therefore consider the entire plan, including:

• Will

• Trusts

• Power of attorney

• Health care proxy

• Life insurance

• Retirement accounts

• Beneficiary designations

• Joint ownership arrangements

• Successor executors, trustees, and agents

New York law also generally terminates a former spouse's authority to act as agent under a power of attorney following divorce or annulment unless the power of attorney expressly provides otherwise. The better question after divorce is therefore not simply “Was my former spouse removed?” It is “What does my estate plan now do without my former spouse in it?”

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What Changes After Having or Adopting a Child?

The birth or adoption of a child is another important reason to review an estate plan. Parents should consider not only who should inherit, but also who would care for a minor child and who would manage property for the child's benefit.

A review may include:

• Guardian nominations in the will

• Trust provisions for minor children

• Selection of trustees

• Beneficiary designations

• Life insurance

• How and when a child would receive an inheritance

• Whether all children are treated as intended

• Planning for children from previous relationships

A guardian and a trustee also do not necessarily have to be the same person. One person can potentially be responsible for a child's care while another manages property held for the child's benefit.

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What If Your Children Are Now Adults?

Children becoming adults can also justify a review. A plan created when children were very young may contain provisions that no longer fit the family's circumstances.

For example, you may want to reconsider:

• The age at which a beneficiary receives control of an inheritance

• Who serves as trustee

• Whether continuing trust protection is appropriate

• Whether an adult child should now serve as executor, trustee, or agent

• Whether the child's financial circumstances have changed

• Whether marriage, divorce, disability, creditor concerns, or other circumstances affect planning for that beneficiary

Turning 18 or 21 does not automatically mean an inheritance should be distributed outright. The appropriate structure depends on the beneficiary and the objectives of the plan.

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What If an Executor, Trustee, Agent, or Beneficiary Dies?

An estate plan should be reviewed if someone with an important role dies, becomes incapacitated, moves away, becomes estranged from you, or is otherwise no longer an appropriate choice.

This can include a:

• Beneficiary

• Executor

• Trustee

• Guardian

• Agent under a power of attorney

• Health care agent

• Successor fiduciary

Well-drafted documents often name successors, so the death of the first person named does not necessarily require an immediate rewrite. But the plan should still be reviewed to determine who moves into that role and whether that person remains the choice you would make today.

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What If Your Relationship With Someone in the Plan Changes?

Death is not the only reason to reconsider the people named in an estate plan. Relationships change. Someone you trusted ten years ago may no longer be the person you would want managing your finances, administering your estate, making medical decisions, serving as trustee, or receiving your property. Conversely, someone who was not part of your life when the plan was created may now be extremely important to you. An estate plan should reflect your current relationships rather than preserve decisions made under circumstances that no longer exist.

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When Do Financial Changes Justify an Estate Plan Review?

A substantial change in assets or financial circumstances can affect whether an existing estate plan remains appropriate.

Examples can include:

• Receiving a significant inheritance

• Selling a business

• Starting or acquiring a business

• A substantial increase or decrease in net worth

• Receiving valuable real estate

• Selling major property

• Receiving a large life insurance benefit

• Changes in retirement assets

• Making substantial lifetime gifts

• Acquiring assets in another state

• Changes in debt or financial obligation

The relevant issue is not simply whether you have become “wealthier.” A new type of asset may create planning issues even if your overall net worth has not changed dramatically.

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Should You Review Your Estate Plan After Buying or Selling Real Estate?

Yes, significant real-estate changes can justify a review. How real property is titled can affect what happens to it at death.

Buying a new home, selling property specifically addressed in a will or trust, adding another owner to property, acquiring investment real estate, or purchasing property outside New York can all affect the operation of an estate plan.

If you have a trust, newly acquired property should also prompt the question of whether that property is supposed to be owned by or coordinated with the trust. A trust document does not automatically control every asset merely because the trust exists.

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What If You Own a Trust but Have Acquired New Assets?

Trust funding should be reviewed as assets change. Someone can have a properly drafted trust but still acquire new property outside the trust over the following years.

1. Bank accounts change.

2. Brokerage accounts change.

3. Real estate is bought and sold.

4. Businesses are created.

5. Financial institutions merge.

6. Old accounts are closed and new ones are opened.

If a trust is intended to own particular assets, the ownership and beneficiary arrangements should be periodically checked to make sure the estate plan and the actual assets still match.

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Should You Review Your Estate Plan After Starting or Selling a Business?

Yes.

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A closely held business can become one of the most important assets in an estate plan.

Starting, buying, selling, or substantially changing a business may affect:

• Who owns the business interest

• Who should receive it at death

• Whether family members should inherit ownership

• How management should continue

• Buy-sell or shareholder agreements

• Life insurance

• Business succession planning

• Estate liquidity

• Valuation and tax considerations

The estate plan should be coordinated with the governing documents and agreements of the business rather than addressing the business interest in isolation.

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What If You Move to or From New York?

Moving to another state is a good reason to have an estate plan reviewed under the law of the new state.

An existing will does not necessarily become invalid simply because you move. New York has statutory rules addressing the validity and effect of wills involving more than one jurisdiction. But moving can affect much more than whether the will was validly signed. A change in domicile can affect:

• Estate and inheritance taxes

• Property rights

• Probate and estate administration

• Powers of attorney

• Health care documents

• Real estate

• Fiduciary considerations

• Trust administration

• State-specific legal terminology and procedures

Similarly, someone moving into New York with documents prepared elsewhere should consider having those documents reviewed under New York law rather than waiting until an emergency or death exposes a problem.

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When Should Beneficiary Designations Be Reviewed?

Beneficiary designations should be reviewed whenever significant family or financial circumstances change.

Assets such as life insurance and retirement accounts may pass according to a beneficiary designation rather than under the terms of a will. That means updating a will without reviewing beneficiary designations can leave the overall estate plan inconsistent. Common review triggers include:

• Marriage

• Divorce

• Birth or adoption of a child

• Death of a beneficiary

• Changes in relationships

• Creation of a trust

• Changes in retirement accounts

• Changes in life insurance

• A significant change in the overall estate plan

The goal is to make sure the documents, account ownership, and beneficiary designations tell the same story.

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When Should You Update Your Power of Attorney?

A power of attorney should be reviewed when the person you selected as agent is no longer the person you want handling financial and legal matters for you.Changes in family relationships, divorce, death or incapacity of an agent, changes in financial circumstances, and changes in the law can all justify review. New York law specifically provides that the authority of an agent who is married to the principal generally terminates upon divorce or annulment unless the power of attorney expressly provides otherwise. It is also worth reviewing older powers of attorney to determine whether they remain appropriate for your current assets, financial institutions, agents, and planning objectives.

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When Should You Update Your Health Care Proxy?

Your health care proxy should reflect the person you currently trust to make health care decisions if you become unable to make them yourself. The New York State Department of Health recommends updating a health care proxy every few years and during major life events such as entering a long-term relationship, marriage, divorce, having or adopting a child, receiving a medical diagnosis, planning a major trip, or experiencing a change in health or medical status.

You should also make sure your health care agent knows that you selected them and understands your wishes.

Copies should be accessible to the appropriate people and health care providers rather than existing only in an estate-planning file that no one can locate during an emergency.

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Should You Review Your Estate Plan After a Major Health Change?

Yes.

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A serious diagnosis or significant change in health can make incapacity planning especially important.

The review may include:

• Health care proxy

• Power of attorney

• Advance directives

• Revocable trust provisions

• Selection of agents and successor trustees

• Access to financial information

• Long-term-care planning

• Medicaid planning where appropriate

• Beneficiary and asset arrangements

Planning before incapacity can provide options that may no longer be available once a person loses the legal capacity necessary to make or change particular decisions.

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Can Changes in Tax Law Affect Your Estate Plan?

Yes, particularly for estates that may be subject to federal or New York estate tax. Tax laws, exclusion amounts, and planning opportunities can change over time. For 2026, the federal basic estate and gift tax exclusion amount is $15 million per individual. New York's basic exclusion amount for individuals dying in 2026 is $7.35 million.  Those amounts are not the same, and tax thresholds themselves can change. An estate plan prepared around an older tax regime may therefore deserve review after a significant change in tax law or a substantial change in the value of the estate.

Tax planning is also not limited to whether the estate exceeds a particular exemption. Income-tax basis, lifetime gifts, retirement assets, business interests, and the structure of trusts can also matter.

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What If Your Estate Plan Is Simply Old?

An old estate plan is not automatically an invalid estate plan. But age is a reason to review it. A will signed many years ago may still be legally effective, yet no longer reflect the person's family, property, relationships, fiduciary choices, or planning goals. The same is true of trusts and incapacity documents. Ask:

• Are the beneficiaries still correct?

• Are the executor and successor executor still appropriate?

• Are the trustees still appropriate?

• Are the guardian nominations still relevant?

• Are the power-of-attorney agents still the people you trust?

• Is your health care agent still appropriate?

• Do you still own the assets specifically addressed in the plan?

• Have you acquired important new assets?

• Are beneficiary designations coordinated with the plan?

• Has your family structure changed?

• Has your net worth changed substantially?

• Have applicable laws changed?

If several answers cause hesitation, the plan is probably worth reviewing.

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Can You Just Write Changes on Your Existing Will?

No.

 

You should not make handwritten edits, cross out provisions, remove pages, or otherwise attempt to informally modify an executed will. New York law establishes specific methods for revoking or altering a will. A change can be accomplished through another will or through another writing executed with the formalities required by New York law, among other statutorily authorized methods.  New York Courts also cautions against physically altering an original will; even removing staples can create issues that must later be explained to the Surrogate's Court.  If your wishes have changed, the safer approach is to determine what legal documents need to be properly amended, replaced, or revoked.

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Does Updating One Document Update Your Entire Estate Plan?

No.

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This is one of the most important reasons to review an estate plan as a coordinated plan rather than a collection of documents. Changing a will does not automatically change:

• A beneficiary designation

• Ownership of a joint account

• A life insurance beneficiary

• A retirement-account beneficiary

• The title to real estate

• A trust

• A power of attorney

• A health care proxy

Similarly, changing a trust does not automatically transfer newly acquired property into it.

A complete estate-plan review should therefore ask whether all of the documents and ownership arrangements still work together.

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What Should You Bring to an Estate Plan Review?

A useful estate-plan review begins with more than the old will. Consider gathering:

• Your current will and any codicils

• Trust agreements and amendments

• Power of attorney

• Health care proxy and advance directives

• Current beneficiary designations

• Life insurance information

• Retirement-account information

• Recent financial account information

• Real-estate deeds

• Business ownership information and relevant agreements

• Information about significant gifts

• A current list of intended beneficiaries and fiduciaries

You should also identify what has changed since the documents were prepared.

That makes it easier to distinguish between provisions that still work and areas that may actually require changes.

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Questions on what else might be important? Ask us through our Contact page.

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The Bottom Line: When Should You Review Your Estate Plan?

You should consider reviewing your estate plan after a meaningful change involving your family, relationships, assets, health, residence, business, beneficiaries, fiduciaries, or applicable law. You should also periodically review an older plan even if no single major event has occurred. But a review does not automatically mean that everything needs to be redrafted. The objective is to answer a simpler question: If my existing estate plan became important today, would it still accomplish what I want?

 

If the answer is uncertain, it is time to review the plan.

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Sources & Legal References

New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law § 3-4.1 — Revocation of Wills; Effect on Codicils

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EPT/3-4.1

New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law § 5-1.4 — Effect of Divorce or Annulment on Provisions Concerning a Former Spouse

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EPT/5-1.4

New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law § 3-5.1 — Wills Having a Relationship to Another Jurisdiction

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EPT/3-5.1

New York General Obligations Law § 5-1511 — Termination or Revocation of Power of Attorney

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GOB/5-1511

New York State Department of Health — Advance Care Planning and Advance Directives FAQ

https://www.health.ny.gov/community/advance_care_planning/faq.htm

New York State Department of Health — Advance Care Planning

https://www.health.ny.gov/community/advance_care_planning/

New York State Unified Court System — Last Will and Testament

https://www.nycourts.gov/help/when-someone-dies/last-will-and-testament

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance — Estate Tax

https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/estate/etidx.htm

Internal Revenue Service — Frequently Asked Questions on Estate Taxes

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/frequently-asked-questions-on-estate-taxes

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