Have you ever looked at your estate planning documents and wondered whether you would still choose the same people today? When an estate plan is created, decisions about who should manage finances, make health care decisions, administer an estate, or manage a trust are often based on relationships and circumstances at that moment.
Years later, those relationships can look very different. Someone you once trusted completely may no longer be part of your life. Family conflict may have developed. A person may be struggling with financial problems, health concerns, or circumstances that make them a poor choice for an important role. For individuals and families throughout Miami and South Florida, reviewing who has been given authority can be just as important as reviewing who will receive your assets.
The People in Your Plan Have Significant Responsibilities
Estate planning involves choosing people for several different roles, and each position carries its own responsibilities.
Your last will and testament may nominate someone to serve as your personal representative. A revocable living trust may name a successor trustee. Your durable power of attorney identifies an agent who may have significant authority over financial and legal matters. Your designation of health care surrogate identifies someone you trust to assist with health care decisions if necessary.
These should not be automatic appointments simply because someone is a relative or was once close to you.
The person serving in each role should be someone you currently trust and believe to be capable of carrying out the responsibility.
Relationships Can Change
The person you selected ten years ago may have seemed like the obvious choice at the time.
Since then, you may have divorced, remarried, become estranged from a family member, experienced conflict with a friend, or simply grown apart from someone.
Sometimes, nothing dramatic has happened at all. You may simply realize that another person is now better suited to the responsibility.
An estate plan should reflect on the relationships you have today, rather than preserve decisions that no longer make sense.
Ability Matters as Much as Trust
Someone can be a wonderful person and still not be the best choice for a particular estate planning role.
Managing financial affairs may require organization, reliability, and the ability to communicate with financial institutions and professionals. Serving as a trustee can involve ongoing administrative responsibilities. Acting as a health care surrogate may require making difficult decisions during emotional circumstances.
As you review your plan, consider whether you still trust the person and whether that individual is realistically prepared to perform the job.
Pay Special Attention to Your Durable Power of Attorney
Your durable power of attorney deserves careful attention because the agent named in the document may receive substantial authority over your financial and legal affairs.
If your relationship with that individual has changed, or if you are concerned about their judgment, reliability, or ability to manage money, leaving the document unchanged may create unnecessary risk.
Do not assume that changing your last will and testament automatically changes the person named in your durable power of attorney. These are separate estate planning documents which should be reviewed individually.
Your Health Care Choices May Need to Change Too
The person you want to handle financial matters may not be the same person you want involved in health care decisions.
Your designation of health care surrogate should identify someone you trust to understand your wishes, communicate effectively, and make decisions when necessary.
Your living will should also continue to accurately reflect on your wishes regarding certain medical treatment decisions.
Reviewing these documents can help ensure that the people speaking for you are still the people you want in those roles.
Do Not Forget Successor Appointments
Estate plans often name more than one person for an important role.
For example, your revocable living trust may identify a successor trustee who can serve if the original trustee is unable or unwilling to act. Your planning documents may also include alternate decision makers.
Those backup choices deserve the same careful review as your first choice.
A successor who was appropriate years ago may no longer be available, or may no longer be someone you want involved.
Warning Signs That It May Be Time for a Change
You do not need to wait for a major conflict or crisis before reviewing the people named in your estate plan.
Consider whether circumstances have changed. Consider whether you no longer communicate regularly with someone you selected, you have concerns about that person’s financial judgment, their health has declined, they have moved far away, family relationships have changed, or another individual has become a more appropriate choice.
The important question is not whether your original decision was wrong. It is whether that decision still makes sense today.
Make Changes While the Choice Is Still Yours
One of the benefits of proactive estate planning is the ability to make your own decisions before a crisis occurs.
If you discover that someone named in your plan is no longer the right person, speak with an experienced Florida estate planning attorney about the appropriate way to update your documents.
Simply telling family members that you want someone else to serve may not legally change the authority provided in your existing documents.
Properly updating your estate plan can help ensure that your current wishes are clearly documented.
Your Estate Plan Should Grow with Your Life
Estate planning is not something that you complete once and never revisit. Your assets change. Your family changes. Your relationships change. The people you trust can change, too.
A periodic review gives you the opportunity to make sure that the individuals who may someday have significant responsibility for your finances, health care, trust, or estate are still the people you would choose today.
At Perlin Estate Planning & Probate, we help individuals and families throughout Miami and South Florida review and update estate plans while their lives and relationships evolve. If you are questioning whether someone named in your current plan is still the right choice, contact our office today to schedule a consultation. This consultation will ensure that the people who are given important responsibilities continue to reflect on your wishes.