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Does Your Estate Plan Still Work? Five Questions to Ask
Most estate plans were written for a different family, a different tax law, and a different net worth. If yours is more than five years old, it probably needs to be re-read — not redrafted, but reviewed.
We meet very few clients without an estate plan. We meet many clients whose estate plan no longer matches their life.
Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations are not "set and forget" documents. They are snapshots of who you were, what you owned, who you trusted, and what the tax law looked like at the moment you signed them. Every one of those changes. The plan rarely does.
Five questions to ask about your current plan
1. Are your beneficiaries still the right beneficiaries?
Retirement accounts, life insurance, and annuities pass by beneficiary designation, not by your will. Your will can say one thing and your 401(k) form can say something completely different the 401(k) form wins. Divorces, remarriages, deaths, and births all change the answer. Re-pull every form. Read every name.
2. Are your assets actually titled into the trust?
A revocable living trust only works for assets that are funded into it. We routinely see beautifully drafted trusts that hold nothing because the house, the brokerage account, and the LLC interests were never re-titled. At death, those assets go through probate exactly as if the trust never existed.
3. Have the tax rules changed since you signed?
The federal estate tax exemption has roughly doubled and is scheduled to sunset. State estate and inheritance taxes have changed. Step-up in basis rules are under regular political pressure. A plan written under the old exemption may now be over-engineered — and the credit-shelter trust it forces at the first death may cost the family a step-up in basis they did not need to give up.
4. Are your fiduciaries still the right people?
The executor, trustee, agent under power of attorney, and healthcare proxy named in your documents may be people you no longer speak to, no longer trust with money, or who have died. If your children are now adults and capable, they may belong in the role.
5. Does the plan match the people?
A good estate plan does more than divide assets. It anticipates the second-generation problem: a beneficiary going through a divorce, a creditor issue, a substance problem, or simply too much money too young. Beneficiary trusts, spendthrift provisions, and incentive structures protect outcomes that an outright distribution cannot.
What to do this quarter
You do not need to redraft anything to know whether you need to. A 60-minute review with a planner who can read your documents, your beneficiary forms, and your tax situation in one sitting will tell you whether the plan still works or which two or three updates would bring it back to life.
That review is the single highest-leverage hour of estate work most families ever do.
Frequently Asked
Common Questions
How often should I review my estate plan?+
At minimum, every 3–5 years and after any major life event: marriage, divorce, birth or death in the family, sale of a business, or a change in residency. Tax law changes (federal or state) also warrant a review even if nothing in your life has changed.
Do I need a trust if I already have a will?+
Not always. Trusts add value when you want to avoid probate, plan for incapacity, protect assets for second-generation beneficiaries, or coordinate complex assets across state lines. A will alone is sometimes sufficient — but it is a decision to make deliberately, not by default.
What happens if my beneficiary designations conflict with my will?+
The beneficiary designation wins. Retirement accounts, life insurance, annuities, and accounts with payable-on-death designations bypass the will entirely. This is the single most common source of unintended outcomes we see in estate plans.