- Many older wills typically used complicated trust arrangements (exemption equivalent trusts, spousal trusts, and similar vehicles) to avoid federal estate tax. However, the new “permanent” federal estate tax exemption amount ($5.25 million per spouse; $10.5 million combined for those dying in 2013) potentially eliminates the need for these complicated trust arrangements. Provided your estate falls below these exemptions, such wills can probably be simplified to eliminate these obsolete trust provisions, greatly simplifying estate administration after death.
- Experience tells us that the persons you named as executor, trustee and guardian may no longer be suitable choices for any number of reasons. Your original choices may have had changes in their own circumstances which render them less suitable today to serve as your personal representative. They may have moved away from the area, they may be older now and less capable or inclined to serve, or they may no longer be as much a part of your life as they were previously. There may be new candidates to serve as executor, trustee and guardian who would better serve your needs.
- Changes in family circumstances often require changes to your will. Potential beneficiaries get married, get divorced, have children and grandchildren. Your extended family may not look the same today as it looked just a few years ago. Would you still want your former sister-in-law to be a guardian for your child? Would you want your former father-in-law to serve as an executor or trustee? The likely answer to these questions is “no”.
Your will should be considered a “living” document and it should be subject to frequent scrutiny while you are alive. Your will is the one written instrument we cannot revise or amend after you are gone – in a sense it becomes frozen at the moment of your death. Therefore, you must be vigilant to review your will periodically to ensure that in the unlikely event you die tomorrow your affairs will be looked after in the manner and by the individuals you truly desire. There is a natural tendency after you sign your will to put it away and forget about it. Our approach should be just the opposite, and perhaps when we change those batteries in our smoke detectors (usually when the clocks change) we should also take a moment to think about our wills.