How Often Should You Update Your Estate Plan?

Ideally, you should update your estate plan in Gloucester County every three to five years or immediately after any significant life change, such as a marriage, divorce, birth, death, relocation, significant asset change, or health shift. Remember that an estate plan only works when it reflects your current life and not the person you were years ago.

If anything meaningful has changed in your family, finances, or goals, your plan deserves a careful revision. At Puff Sierzega & MacFeeters Law Offices, our estate planning attorneys in Gloucester County can review your documents, spot potential issues, and help you update your plan so it protects the people you care about.

When to Update an Estate Plan

It’s in your best interest to update your estate plan if any of the following apply to your situation:

Major Family Changes

Life events ultimately influence how your assets should be passed down and who should make decisions on your behalf. Examples include having a new child or grandchild, getting divorced or remarried, a shift in guardianship needs, or a death in the family.

Significant Financial Shifts

A change in wealth should trigger a change in how that wealth is protected. Consider updating your estate plan if you have purchased or sold real estate, received an inheritance, opened or closed a business, or accumulated substantial retirement savings.

Changes in New Jersey or Federal Law

Estate tax thresholds, Medicaid eligibility rules, and probate procedures constantly evolve. For instance, New Jersey no longer imposes a state estate tax, yet its inheritance tax still affects many families and requires careful planning. Even modest changes at the federal level can affect how trusts should be structured or how beneficiaries receive assets.

A new diagnosis, mobility limitations, or cognitive changes may require updated powers of attorney, healthcare directives, or long-term care planning. Medical technology, treatment preferences, and family dynamics can likewise shift over time. Updating your healthcare documents ensures the right person can step in confidently if you are unable to speak for yourself.

Changes in Personal Priorities

An estate plan that once felt good enough may no longer fit your evolving priorities. Your values significantly influence your planning just as much as your finances. For instance, you may want to support a nonprofit, provide long-term stability for a vulnerable adult child, simplify your plan as you age, or prevent conflict among your children.

How Our Estate Planning Attorney Helps Keep Your Plan Current

A strong estate plan involves more than updating names on your will. A skilled estate planning lawyer can help ensure that it continues to function as expected by:

Reviewing wills and trusts to ensure beneficiaries and decision-makers are up to date
Adjusting financial and healthcare powers of attorney so trusted people can act without delay in emergencies
Identifying outdated language that can trigger disputes
Coordinating beneficiary designations across your bank accounts, retirement funds, and insurance policies
Reducing your tax exposure when assets or laws change
Creating long-term care strategies so you can protect your savings if your health declines
Simplifying probate outcomes by tightening the structure of your estate plan

Update Your Plan with Our Estate Planning Lawyers in Gloucester County

If your life has changed in the past three to five years, you should consider changing your estate plan, too. Contact Puff Law online or call 856-845-0011 for your confidential case review with our estate planning attorneys.