Updating Your Estate Plan After a Death in the Family

Whether a death in the family is expected due to long-term illness or occurs suddenly, this is often a time that may necessitate updating your estate plan. None of us want to think about the loss of a family member to whom we entrusted our own health care or finances through an advance directive or power of attorney, or losing a spouse or parent or child named as a beneficiary. While it can be extremely difficult to return to an estate plan that involves a loved one who recently passed away, it is also extremely important to make any necessary updates. If you do not update an estate plan and a named beneficiary or agent or executor is no longer alive, legal issues can arise and can be quite complicated.

What kinds of updates need to be made after a loved one’s death? Our Connecticut estate planning attorney can explain in more detail.

Is Your Recently Deceased Loved One Included In Your Estate Plan?

After losing a family member or a close friend, it will be important to work with an estate planning attorney on reviewing and updating your estate plan if your recently deceased loved one was named in your estate plan in any capacity. What do we mean by that? Generally speaking, if your recently deceased loved one was named in any of the following roles, it will be crucial to revisit your estate plan as soon as possible and to make revisions or create new documents (depending on the specific circumstances):

• Executor of your estate;
• Beneficiary of a will or trust;
• Payable-on-death beneficiary of a bank account;
• Named beneficiary on an insurance account or pension;
• Guardian;
• Agent in a durable power of attorney; or
• Health care representative.

How Complicated Are Updates?

You may be wondering how complicated or time-intensive the process of updating your estate plan will be. The answer will depend on the documents or tools that need to be updated.

If you need to make any changes to your will — including to a person named as executor, guardian, or beneficiary — you can create a “codicil” that amends your will, but it is often easier to simply make changes in a new document and create a new will altogether.

To make changes to beneficiaries in a trust or to those designated as beneficiaries on bank accounts, it is relatively straightforward to remove a beneficiary and to add a new one. To update a power of attorney or your advance directive involving the appointment of a health care representative, you will likely create new documents.

Contact a Canton Estate Planning Attorney for Help with Your Connecticut Estate Plan

After the death of a loved one, especially someone who was named in your estate plan in one way or another, it is critical to talk with an attorney about making updates to your estate plan. While it certainly will not be the first thing on your mind as you grieve the loss of a beloved family member, it is important to make sure that your estate plan is up to date. As soon as you are ready, an experienced Canton estate planning lawyer at the Law Office of Brian S. Karpe can speak with you about reviewing and updating as many documents and tools as necessary in your estate plan, from beneficiaries to powers of attorney. Contact our firm today for more information.

Source:

cga.ct.gov/2023/pub/title_45a.htm