Your current estate plan may be adequate for your needs right now, but what if that stops?
Circumstances may change in your life, such as a marriage, divorce, death, the addition of a new child or grandchild, a change in the laws or a change in your assets, and that may require you to update your estate plans. This guide discusses how you can do this:
Write a codicil
If you want to amend your will, perhaps to add or remove an asset or change the executor, you can draft a separate legal document called a codicil. In this document, you will identify the provisions of your will that you want to update and include the particular change.
Note that a codicil should be titled as so and signed the same way as a will. You can write as many codicils as you want.
Write a new will
If you want to make a major update to your will, it may be best to write a new one. It will be best to state in your new will that you have revoked all previously existing ones so that there is no confusion. However, tearing, burning or shredding your existing will in the presence of witnesses also revokes it.
Should you tell your executor?
You are not required to inform your executor about updating your will, provided you have observed the legal steps, but it may be best to do so. You don’t need to tell them the specifics, but they should know about the change. This way, when the will goes to probate, they can quickly identify a strange thing. Further, if you change where you keep your will after updating it, inform the executor about the new location.
Legal guidance can help you make sure that your estate plans are always on point.