How often should an estate plan be reviewed? Opinions vary, for example this attorney recommends every three years:
Creating an estate plan is not the end of the estate plan. Over the years, your goals and desires may change. Family dynamics, finances and even the law may change. It is recommended that you review your estate plan about every three years to make sure the plan is in tune with your current situation. Here are some of the steps involved in reviewing your estate plan:
Source: Bonnie Kraham: Review your estate plan every 3 years
Is every three years often enough? Well, it’s certainly an improvement since the average estate plan is about 17 years old!
Truth is, there can be no set rule on how often your plan should be reviewed because there is no set rule on how often your circumstances change.
A better way…
A more sensible approach, for both attorney and client, is to arrange some form of client maintenance program that allows periodic (for example, annual) review and makes it easy to update the estate plan.
