When Should You Look to Update Your Will

Neufeld Legal | Calgary, Alberta wills and estate planning lawyer, advising clients in developing and implementing their personal succession plans.

Contact Neufeld Legal PC at 403-400-4092 or Chris@NeufeldLegal.com

Your Last Will & Testament ("will") is very much a "living" document that should evolve with your life, such that it might best reflect your most current personal situation and intentions upon your death. While there is no strict rule for how often you should update your will, legal professionals generally recommend that you review the particulars of your will every three to five years or, more importantly, whenever a major life event occurs or alteration in applicable law or legal processes.

Whereas major life events can sustantively change how you look at your intentions for the disposition of your property, alterations in applicable law and legal processes can effect the actual outcome of your intended disposition or make procedures following your death more effective if the appopriate alterations have been implemented.

• Changes in your marital status: Getting married, separated, or divorced can have significant legal implications for your will. Marriage often revokes a previous will entirely, while divorce may only invalidate provisions for an ex-spouse, but it's crucial to ensure your assets are distributed as you intend.

• Birth or adoption of a child or grandchild: The arrival of a new family member is a key reason to update your will, especially to appoint a guardian for minor children and ensure they are included as beneficiaries.

• Death of a beneficiary or executor: If someone you named to inherit assets or manage your estate passes away (or is no longer in a position to serve as your executor), you may need to revise your will to account for their absence or to appoint a new executor.

• Significant changes in your financial situation: Personal financial changes can make prior arrangements in one's last will & testament out of synche with what you are in fact look to achieve following your death, including:

  • Acquiring or selling major assets like a home, business, or a large investment portfolio.

  • Coming into a large sum of money through an inheritance or a lottery win.

  • Starting or closing a business.

• Moving to or from another province or country: Laws pertaining to wills, estates and probate can vary significantly between jurisdictions. Your will may not be valid or as effective in another jurisdiction should you move to or from another province or country, such that you consult with a lawyer admitted to practice law in the particular jurisdiction that your will / estate becomes subject to, as well as property that is situated in another jurisdiction, such that the appropriate laws and regulations are complied with.

• Changes in your relationships: If you have become estranged from a family member you previously named in your will (or that prior estrangement has been reconciled or has been otherwise changed), or if you've developed a close relationship with someone new you wish to include, you should look to update your will to reflect these changes.

• Change in the health of yourself or a beneficiary: A serious health diagnosis may lead you to make special provisions for long-term care or to ensure a beneficiary with health challenges is provided for. The disposition of one's estate to someone under disability might also necessitate that their intended share of the estate not be directly transferred, but instead be held in trust to comport with specific rules and regulations that might otherwise impact government support that they are receiving due to their disability.

• Tax law changes: Tax laws and regulations, especially those pertaining to estates and the disposition of property upon one's death, can change over time, such that appropriate tax-planning strategies need to be considered and potentially reflected in one's will.

• Estate or probate law / process changes: Estate and probate laws change over time, as do the processes for undertaking probate. This is particularly important where the estate is probated in Alberta, as certain recent procedural updates can expedite the probate process where one's will has been revised to include the latest process updates.

As such, reviewing your will (and other estate planning documents) periodically, and updating the legal documents as required, should be an integral part of maintaining an up-to-date will and estate plan. By undertaking this review and updating process on a regular basis, it should provide some much needed peace of mind that your current intentions will be carried out, while limiting unintended consequences and legal disputes for your loved ones, while also keeping matters legally and procedurally up-to-date, which can better optimize one's estate from a tax perspective and take advantage procedural efficiences with developments in the probate process.

Contact our law firm today to learn how our legal team can help you plan for the future (e.g., wills, trusts, estate planning) or deal with the legal demands associated with the passing of a loved one. Contact our law firm at 403-400-4092 or Chris@NeufeldLegal.com to schedule a confidential initial consultation.

 

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When Should You Look to Update Your Will Your Last Will & Testament ("will") is very much a "living" document that should evolve with your life, such that it might best reflect your most current personal situation and intentions upon your death. While there is no strict rule for how often you should update your will, legal professionals generally recommend that you review the particulars of your will every three to five years or, more importantly, whenever a major life event occurs. Read more.

 

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