There are many important milestones and significant events that occur throughout your life that you will want to celebrate and observe with the people who matter to you. These milestones may also serve as an opportunity to consider updating your estate plan if you have one. After all, the whole reason you establish an estate plan in the first place is to make sure your loved ones are cared for when you’re gone. A Kansas City estate planning lawyer can help you.
Updating Your Estate Plan in Kansas
While you can update your estate plan whenever you feel it warrants updating, you may want to use significant life events as a time to do so. If you don’t make the effort to modify things when needed, you could end up with an outdated plan that no longer reflects your wishes. The wrong people could end up benefiting from your estate plan, while people you intended to include can end up excluded because you didn’t plan ahead. A good lawyer can help you avoid mistakes.
Updating your estate plan without the help of an experienced estate planning lawyer can be risky. You may not know what to do to ensure your plan is updated properly. It’s not unreasonable to want professional help modifying a legal document that could have significant ramifications on your family’s financial security.
An estate plan is not a single piece of paper that you sign to change. It’s a series of important legal documents that have requirements for modifications.
Updating Your Estate Plan After a Divorce
One of the more common life events that can lead to the modification of an estate plan is a divorce. Divorces are often messy and result in a total lack of trust in someone you once loved wholeheartedly. People may want to completely erase their former spouse from their estate plan. However, this may not happen automatically in Kansas, so you should check your estate plan after a divorce to ensure your spouse is no longer benefiting and no longer has power of attorney.
According to the CDC, the divorce rate in Kansas is one of the lowest in the country, with the rate being only 1.9 per 1,000 residents as of 2022. Still, that doesn’t mean divorce is a rarity in Kansas.
On the other hand, the marriage rate was 5.3 per 1,000 residents as of 2023, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. This is lower than the national marriage rate.
Going through a divorce can be an emotionally draining experience. If you are struggling with the emotional and mental fallout, you should reach out to a local divorce support group, such as Relationship Recovery, or a national support group like DivorceCare. Having someone to talk to about your situation can be beneficial to your mental health and overall situation.
Updating Your Estate Plan After Marriage
Many people choose to update their estate plans after bringing someone new into their lives. A marriage may be the ideal scenario to change your plan and include your new spouse as a beneficiary. When somebody becomes a new member of the family, it’s understandable to want to make sure they are taken care of by your estate plan. You may even choose to grant them power of attorney so they can make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated.
Updating Your Estate Plan After a Birth/Adoption
A lot of people choose to update their estate plans after a child enters their lives. Through birth or adoption, the arrival of a child can change things in your family forever. You may choose to leave the bulk of your assets to them, especially if they are your child. You may want to update your plan by naming someone you trust as the child’s guardian if something happens to you. Setting up a trust for your child’s future security is also something you may want to do.
FAQs
Q: When Should I Update My Estate Plan?
A: Ultimately, it is up to you to decide when to update your estate plan. While many people may decide to wait for a big life event to encourage a change, you can change it whenever you want to. If you have a falling out with a family member, you may want to remove them from your plan. If someone’s financial circumstances change, you may want to include them more. It’s entirely your decision.
Q: Do I Need a Lawyer to Help With My Plan?
A: Technically, you do not need to hire an estate planning lawyer to help you update your plan. If you know what you need to do and how to do it, you can proceed on your own without legal help. However, if you do not know what to do, you would benefit from the help of an experienced estate planning lawyer. We can walk you through the process and make sure you don’t make any crucial mistakes.
Q: Why Does Estate Planning Matter?
A: Estate planning matters because it is the only way you can make sure the right people benefit from your estate and assets when you pass away. If you have a significant estate, you want to ensure that your loved ones are taken care of. If you don’t have an estate plan when you die, Kansas’s intestate succession laws will come into play, and the court will decide how to distribute your assets. Your intended beneficiaries may be left out.
Q: Why Is It Important to Update My Plan After a Divorce?
A: It’s important to update your estate plan after a divorce because your circumstances in life have changed. You may no longer feel any affection or loyalty towards your former spouse. The last thing you want is for them to benefit from your estate or hold medical power of attorney over you if something happens to you. Erasing them from your plan can give you peace of mind and remove any of their remaining power over you.
Contact a Lawyer Today
At Stange Law Firm, we can help you update your estate plan the way you want. Contact us to speak to someone about a possible consultation.
