Curious about how to update your will? Creating a will is a crucial step in planning for the future, as it ensures that your wishes are carried out after you pass away, regardless of your financial situation. As life progresses and your circumstances shift, it’s important to keep your will up-to-date. This article will walk you through the steps involved in updating a will, address frequently asked questions, and provide helpful tips for managing this vital component of estate planning.
They don’t have to be complex documents. In fact, for most people, a will should be relatively straightforward. The complexity of your will typically corresponds to the complexity of your life. For example, if your family situation involves special considerations regarding children or other relatives, you may have specific reasons for including or excluding certain individuals. Similarly, if you have significant wealth or assets you wish to protect, your will can reflect these complexities.
The importance of regular will reviews
Having a will is a responsible decision for both you and your family. However, its primary purpose is to benefit your family rather than yourself in memory. Wills are not one-time documents to be forgotten until after you pass away. Instead, you should review them regularly, even if you don’t need to make any changes. I recommend reviewing your will before reaching old age or in the event of critical illness.
We’ve all witnessed scenes in movies where a dramatic reading of a will occurs after the passing of a wealthy older relative. These scenes often depict a moment of suspense, with a deserving family member overlooked in favor of a distant relative or new spouse. The family is left devastated, and the surprising contents of the will profoundly affect their lives, shaping the remainder of the movie’s plot. However, you wouldn’t want your life to resemble a poorly scripted movie. Therefore, I recommend taking a different approach when it comes to managing your will and other end-of-life affairs.
I specifically recommend scheduling a reading of your will shortly after its completion, while you’re still in good health. This proactive approach ensures clarity and eliminates any potential confusion or questions regarding your intentions after your passing. The last thing your family needs is to grapple with shock and uncertainty about their inheritances or the distribution of assets. Holding a will reading early on in the estate planning process minimizes the risk of misunderstandings and ensures that everyone is aware of your wishes.
Benefits of discussing your will with family
This also provides an opportunity for any relatives excluded from the will to discuss the reasoning behind it with you. This dialogue may enable them to make changes in their lives to potentially regain status as beneficiaries under your will. While you are the best judge of your family’s specific circumstances, some relatives might benefit from being informed about the contents of your will in this way. Even if you don’t anticipate such situations, I still believe it’s wise to have a conversation with your immediate family about the contents of your will. This ensures everyone is on the same page and can help prevent misunderstandings down the line.
During such a difficult time, you’ll want your family to focus on grieving and cherishing their positive memories of you. What you certainly wouldn’t want is for them to spend an extended period after your passing discussing or arguing about your will. Such conflicts are likely harmful to everyone involved and can be avoided by discussing your will with your family in advance. By having these conversations proactively, you ensure that your wishes are clear and reduce the potential for disputes among your loved ones after you’re gone.
Benefits of hiring an attorney to help you draft your will
When it comes to drafting a will there are two general reasons why I think it is important for you to at least consider hiring an attorney. The first would be because you are attorney has a level of experience in handling matters related to estate planning over and above what you possess. This means you might face events in your life that require different provisions or protections in your will that you hadn’t anticipated. For example, there may be tax advantages in creating a particular type of trust within the will that you were not aware of before speaking with your attorney. You may lose out on tax savings by not considering the full implications of your decision-making.
An attorney will help your problems solve through tricky circumstances that you may encounter in your situation and can provide you with solutions that you may not maybe even ever been aware of. This does not mean that an attorney can solve all your problems. However, what it does mean is that having an attorney provides you with a level of competency to make sure that what you decide to include in your will is thorough and suits your family for the best.
The second benefit of working with an experienced estate planning attorney is that they help ensure your will is valid and less likely to face challenges in court. A major risk to an otherwise solid estate plan is a probate court’s inability to enforce your will if a relative challenges it. An attorney helps prevent this issue by ensuring your will stands up to scrutiny. Small mistakes and drafting a document can lead to big problems for your family after you pass.
Making changes to your will does not have to be difficult
With all of that said, simply having a will is not enough to prepare for end-of-life circumstances. Many people draft a well-considered will with their spouse when they first marry, set it aside, and then never update it for years, or they may never revisit it to make any changes. This is a huge mistake. Your life and my stand to change so much over a few decades that a will written 25 years ago probably does not reflect half of your current needs.
Children are born. Sadly, children die. You might get married, divorced, and then remarry. Perhaps you wrote a will when you first married and had few assets. However, as you become more established in your career and accumulate wealth, your original will, drafted years ago, may no longer reflect your current situation. The point is that you need to be able to make changes when necessary to your will. This does not mean that you need to make changes for no reason or invent reasons to change the terms of your will. However, as your life changes so must your will.
Updating your will: overcoming common obstacles
Many people hesitate to update their wills due to the perceived effort involved. They may find it challenging to summon the determination needed to revisit past memories and discomfort from the initial drafting process.
To that, I would say it is not difficult to update or change a will. If you can remember the process that you went through to draft your original will then updating a will should not intimidate you. rather, the process of updating a will should be something like a refresher course or even an opportunity for you to revisit prior estate planning goals in hopes of avoiding problems with end-of-life scenarios. Specifically, you can either create an entirely new will or add a codicil to your existing will.
If you need to update certain parts of your will then you would need to have drafted a codicil. A codicil can address minor changes to your will but is not suitable for major updates. For example, a codicil can handle updates like changing your name after marriage, revising executor details, updating a beneficiary’s name, or adjusting age benchmarks for a child to begin receiving benefits under the will. However, significant changes generally require creating a new will.
Updating your will with a codicil: Important considerations
It’s important to remember that even though a codicil addresses minor updates, it still requires formalization. Just like your original will, the codicil must be signed and witnessed. You cannot simply draft and attach the codicil to your original will; instead, you must have it signed by two witnesses and notarized, just as you did with your original will.
One of the benefits of having a codicil to a wheel drafted is that it is less expensive to do so as compared to completely drafting a new will. The codicil is not a free-standing document. It is an addendum to your current will. Another aspect to think about is what you are attempting to do in creating a will. If you are attempting to update beneficiaries under your will then you may want to just create an entirely new document rather than do this through a codicil. The reason for this is that your loved ones might be upset if they find out they were excluded from the original will or removed in the codicil. In those types of situations, it is better to simply have never shown that person the original will or codicil.
Creating a new will
Finally, if a codicil doesn’t suit your circumstances, you might consider having a completely new will drafted. This would require you to go through the same process you did for the creation of your original will. However, you would be able to rely upon the structure of your original will and would probably just be updating specific language to reflect changes in beneficiaries or other details. As always, if you have questions about whether to draft an entirely new will or simply update a will through a codicil, then you should speak with an experienced estate and probate law attorney.
Again, it would be necessary for you to completely rewrite and have a new will created for yourself if you have undergone a lot of changes. How often should you be reviewing the contents of your will to determine whether or not your will needs to be updated? A good rule of thumb for you to utilize is to review the contents of your will every four or five years. This is especially true if you have had children in this period and changed jobs. Or otherwise seen a dramatic change in the course of your life.
Updating your will after a divorce: important considerations
Additionally, the conclusion of a divorce case is a great opportunity for you to review your will and completely update a draft new document. For instance, I imagine that you would want to remove any reference to your removing them as a beneficiary of yours under the will. You probably wouldn’t want your spouse to learn about your will only after a divorce. Similarly, if you’ve married or had children since creating your will, you should prepare to draft a new one. Including your new spouse or child in your will is crucial. Don’t assume that Texas intestate distribution laws will accurately reflect your wishes or handle them appropriately.
There are several financial considerations to bear in mind when updating a will. For example, if you’ve acquired new property in recent years, you’ll likely want to specify who inherits it in the event of your passing. Additionally, if someone you’ve named as an executor in your will has passed away, you’ll need to update your will to appoint a new executor and secondary executor.
Inheriting property and updating your will
Another interesting scenario could involve you inheriting property after a loved one has passed away. You may want to ensure that any gifts you receive remain within your family or go to a specific relative when you pass away. Sometimes if you fail to specify what you want to see happen with a particular piece of property the court may rule that the entire document as and eligible for consideration. This significant issue requires careful consideration.
In summary, updating a will doesn’t need to be overwhelming or stressful. Creating a will doesn’t speed up your passing; instead, it ensures that your family is cared for after you’re gone. While you can’t guarantee future outcomes, working with a skilled probate and estate planning attorney to update your will is a wise decision. Your family will greatly value the foresight and responsibility you’ve shown for years to come.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
If you have any questions about the material contained in today’s blog post please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed estate and probate law attorneys offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations provide a valuable opportunity to understand Texas estate planning and probate law and to see how filing a probate case might impact your family.
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The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding divorce, it’s important to speak with one of our Houston, TX Divorce Lawyers right away to protect your rights.
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Bryan Fagan, a native of Atascocita, Texas, is a dedicated family law attorney inspired by John Grisham’s “The Pelican Brief.” He is the first lawyer in his family, which includes two adopted brothers. Bryan’s commitment to family is personal and professional; he cared for his grandmother with Alzheimer’s while completing his degree and attended the South Texas College of Law at night.
Married with three children, Bryan’s personal experiences enrich his understanding of family dynamics, which is central to his legal practice. He specializes in family law, offering innovative and efficient legal services. A certified member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, Bryan is part of an elite group of legal professionals committed to ongoing education and high-level expertise.
His legal practice covers divorce, custody disputes, property disputes, adoption, paternity, and mediation. Bryan is also experienced in drafting marital property agreements. He leads a team dedicated to complex family law cases and protecting families from false CPS allegations.
Based in Houston, Bryan is active in the Houston Family Law Sector of the Houston Bar Association and various family law groups in Texas. His deep understanding of family values and his professional dedication make him a compassionate advocate for families navigating Texas family law.
