Wills and Estates in Florida: When to Update Your Will

We can define estate planning as the managing and passing of your assets through the preparation of documents and retitling of assets.  The process of linking asset protection with estate planning is called integrated estate planning and they work together to form a comprehensive plan.  Having one without the other is incomplete.  Every person should have an estate plan so that they can control who gets their assets at death.  In addition, the estate plan covers an individual should he or she become incapacitated.

A will is a document that is written by a testator designating where his or her assets will go at death.  A valid will must be executed when the testator has testamentary capacity.  In other words, the testator must be of sound mind and at least 18 years old or an emancipated minor at the time the will is executed.  Testator must also understand who his or her heirs should be.

You may have a valid will and think you are in the clear.  Well, all wills need to reviewed at certain points in your life.  You should always revisit your estate plan if you get married, get divorced, have children, have a big change in financial status or if one or more of your beneficiaries die.  If you do not review your will when there are major occurrences in your life (even if no changes are ultimately made), you risk having your assets go to the wrong beneficiary.  So, it’s imperative to update your will during these times.

Please visit my website or contact me directly if you would like any more information regarding asset protection or estate planning, or would like a copy of my best-selling books on asset protection (complimentary if you mention this Blog).