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AL Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
Monday, July 10, 2023
 Do you currently have an Alabama estate plan? When was it created? Has it been updated recently? What planning tools are included within it? And, perhaps even more importantly, does your Alabama estate plan reflect your current needs, values, family, and the legacy you want to leave at the time of your passing?
In our years of experience, the majority of the clients we work with understand the importance of creating an Alabama estate plan. Our clients want to proactively decide what should happen in a time of sudden crisis or death, and they do not want to leave their wishes either to chance or the Alabama state mandated process. Unfortunately, though, they do not keep in mind the upkeep a comprehensive Alabama estate plan requires. Your Alabama estate plan is a critical part of not only your estate, but your overall health and well being. With that said, your Alabama estate plan should not be left unattended and, instead, be reviewed at least every three years, if not every year, to make sure it will still work the way you need it to.
For our clients we find that the most important part of developing their Alabama estate plan is the peace of mind a completed plan can provide them. By creating your Alabama estate plan you are ensuring that you, and what you love most, is protected against uncertainty, potential harm, and confusion. We would like to share a few complications we often see occur in both older and unmaintained Alabama estate plans.
1. Laws change. Often over time laws change and even the best drafted Alabama estate plans may need to be updated. It is important to meet with your Alabama estate planning attorney to review your Alabama estate plan periodically to make sure laws governing your plan are still in place. Further, in your meeting with your Alabama estate planning attorney you can learn if there are more advantageous or new laws that should be incorporated into your estate planning as well.
2. Family structure changes. Often the family structure that our clients originally came to us with to create their Alabama estate plan changes over time. Births, deaths, and divorces are just the start of the family structure changes that can impact your estate plan. You need to keep up your relationship with your Alabama estate planning attorney to make sure that your attorney knows when there are changes in your family that can impact who inherits from you at the time of your passing, and how.
3. Decision makers change. Just like there may be changes to your family structure, there may be changes to the person or persons you want to make your decisions for you in the event of your incapacity or death. Again, you need to let your Alabama estate planning attorney know if one of your decision makers no longer wishes to act on your behalf or cannot act due to his or her own personal needs or death. It is very important that you remember because you do not want to be in the position at a time when you are most vulnerable that you do not have a decision maker in place to manage either your health or your finances.
4. Legacy goals are evolving. As things change over time, so might your goals for your legacy. What you wanted last year may no longer be the case today, but without updating your Alabama estate plan this fact will remain unknown. By developing a strong relationship with your Alabama estate planning attorney and keeping him in the know at all times related to goals for your legacy, you can ensure that you are crafting an Alabama estate plan that reflects what you want both now and as the future unfolds.
We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. At the end of the day, legal planning is not just for you. Instead, it is for the ones you love most. If we can answer any questions for you on putting this estate planning in place, please do not hesitate to let us know. For more information, please reach out to our office and schedule a time to meet.
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