Article 3: Periodic Reviews of Your Estate Plan Are Important!

Written by: Robert J. Silverman, Attorney at Law, Silverman & Jaffe, P.C.

A common misconception is that estate planning is a “one and done” project. The reality is that laws change, lives change and estate planning practice and software evolves. Hence, periodic reviews of your estate plan are very important (e.g. every 3-5 years or sooner if any material changes occur in your personal, family and/or financial situation).

One of many noteworthy examples of why reviews are critical encompasses the central way in which a married couple’s living trust (“Trust”) is structured. For decades, a large percentage of married couples, including those with estates of a moderate size, established what is referred to as an ‘A-B’ Trust. That structure was put in place to potentially save tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal estate tax, if not more, for the benefit of inheritors. But, just over a decade ago, that tax law changed dramatically. Now, a huge number of married couples still have an A-B Trust (many of whom don’t know they have one) that is very likely unnecessary and less than optimal. Fortunately, if you are married, you can amend your Trust, but this should be done before the first spouse dies. Attached is a more in-depth article describing this issue.

Another major, growing trend has been to include robust provisions in one’s Trust that are often missing in garden variety Trusts - those that provide meaningful creditor and marital protection for children and/or other loved ones. Newer, innovative and appealing software used by insightful estate planning attorneys, enables remarkable protection of your loved ones’ inheritance from creditors. Given the explosive growth in the number of lawsuits filed in recent times, creditor protection is, with good reason, a growing concern. Likewise, with a high divorce rate, many are fearful that one or more of their children might get divorced; and that if so, marital claims asserted by the child’s spouse could end up significantly diminishing the child’s inheritance. Your Trust can incorporate creative and efficient ways to help mitigate any damage to your loved ones from such potential marital claims.