When to Update Your Will

Estate planning shouldn’t be a “one and done” process. Periodically revisiting your decisions with a knowledgeable estate planning attorney will help avoid any gaps or unintended omissions, and ensure that you update your will to account for any future changes in the laws or estate taxes that might stand in the way of your last wishes.

How Often Should You Update Your Will?

Far too many people treat estate planning as a one-time event. They meet with an estate planning attorney, sign all the documents, put them in a drawer or fire-proof safe, and forget about them. But times change, and with them, so do your estate planning needs. Even if nothing has changed in your family or your asset portfolio, if you don’t update your will periodically, it could become outdated or ineffective.

That’s why it is a good idea to review your will, trust, and other estate planning documents every three to five years. By sitting down with your attorney and going through the documents, you can adjust anything that no longer matches with your wishes, and your lawyer can identify changes that need to be made to reflect the current legal landscape.

Reasons to Update Your Will

There are many things that may happen in day-to-day life that will also affect your estate plan. In addition to any routine reviews, you should also update your estate plan in the event of:

Marriage or Remarriage

If you have a new spouse, your wishes for your estate will likely change to include him or her in your plan. Also Connecticut law gives surviving spouses inheritance and exemption rights that could override your estate plan. You need to update your will to account for your new spouse along with your other beneficiaries.

Divorce

In Connecticut, a Judgment of Divorce revokes bequests made to a former spouse in a will. But this can leave gaps in your estate plan, and may give power over your estate to someone you no longer love. There are changes you should make at the time of separation and divorce to protect your assets and make sure your ex-spouse does not get more than he or she is owed.

Birth or Adoption of Children

Whenever your family expands because of the birth or adoption of a new child or grandchild, you should update your will to include that child as a beneficiary or clearly omit him or her if you intend not to leave the child any inheritance. If you become a parent yourself, you may also need to name a legal guardian for your child and possibly establish a trust for his or her care.

Death of a Beneficiary or Designate

If someone that you name in your estate plan dies, you will need to update your will. This applies to beneficiaries as well as those you name as executor, power of attorney, healthcare advocate, or guardian. While most modern estate plans designate successors, you will want to have a new backup, just in case.

Changes in Relationships

Even if the person you named is still alive, that doesn’t mean you still want them to serve the role you chose for them years earlier. If you have a falling out or grow closer to someone new, you may need to update your will to replace your executor, power of attorney, healthcare advocate, or guardian to better reflect your current relationships.

Substantial Changes in Assets

Whether you win the lottery or face an unexpected loss of wealth, substantial changes to your assets could have unintended consequences to your estate plan. Financial windfalls could subject your family to estate taxes you didn’t expect. On the other hand, financial setbacks could leave your estate coming up short on funds to satisfy your specific bequests.

Changes in Tax or Probate Laws

In today’s politically tumultuous setting, federal and state tax laws seem to be constantly changing. For example, in 2025, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” increased the federal estate tax exemption, making the change permanent (until the next round of legislation). These changes could affect the way you plan for your family’s future, even without you knowing it. If you have questions about changes in tax or probate laws, you can ask your estate planning attorney to review your will to make sure it reflects the current law.

Changes in a Beneficiary’s Situation

If a beneficiary has incurred substantial debt since you last executed a will, that beneficiary’s inheritance could end up in the hands of his or her creditors or in the control of a bankruptcy trustee. In such a situation disinheriting that person may maximize the value of your estate to your family and better implement your intent.

Methods of Updating Your Will

Depending on the size of the changes you want to make, there are three ways you can go about updating your will:

• Updating a Personal Property Memorandum - If your estate plan included a personal property memorandum listing sentimental items, heirlooms, and other tangible personal property items, you can update that list with descriptions and the name of the inheritor from time to time as long as it is signed and dated.
• Adopting a Codicil - If you need to make small changes to your will, such as adding or removing specific assets or “bequests” from a beneficiary’s inheritance, you can execute a “codicil” which will amend the will to bring it up to date.

• Creating a Substitute Will and Destroying the Old One - When big changes are required, you may need to draft an entirely new will. In that case, you should make sure you destroy all the copies of your older estate plan to avoid any confusion and negate any legal effect of the earlier document.

Get Help Updating Your Will from an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney

Whether you just need a routine review, or are ready to make big changes to your estate plan, the probate attorney at Lawrence & Jurkiewicz, LLC represents clients in Hartford and Litchfield Counties. Attorney Edward Jurkiewicz can help you choose the right estate planning strategies to reflect your wishes, make sure everything is up to date. Please call us at 860-626-1333 or contact us at your convenience to schedule a confidential consultation.