Can I Change My Estate Plan Once Created?

The good thing about creating an estate plan is that most of the components of it can be changed as your life and circumstances change. There are innumerable life events that could occur that could make you want to add or remove a beneficiary from your will and the rest of your estate plan. For example,  you may welcome a new child into your family, or have a severe falling out with one of your family members. Marriage and divorce are usually good reasons to review your estate plan. Many people also create or change their estate plans after someone they love develops a disability or medical condition that requires lifelong care. You may also want to review your estate plan after acquiring a large asset, such as a house. Staying up to date with your estate plan will make sure that your loved ones get the most out of your estate with as few costs and inconveniences as possible.

So how exactly should you go about changing your estate plan? Just like almost every other estate planning question, it depends on your specific situation. You will also need to make sure that your changes are made across each of your estate planning documents if you want them to be consistent. The laws in your state could change in a way that might require you to change your estate plan accordingly. No matter the reason, an experienced estate planning lawyer can help you figure out the best way to amend your estate plan to meet your needs

Codicils

 If you already have an estate plan that is fairly straightforward, you may be able to modify your estate plan through the use of one or more codicils. A codicil can change or supplement your will, trusts, etc. While Arizona will recognize a holographic, or handwritten, codicil, it’s better to go about it through the clearest means possible. Failure to meet Arizona’s material provision requirements could end up with the codicil being tossed out in probate court. Having witnesses at the signing will increase your codicil’s strength in court, as well as having the codicil notarized.

Revocation

If your estate plan is complex, it may be impossible to make your desired changes through codicils. In these types of situations, it can be easier to simply revoke your estate plan and start over with a new one. There are multiple ways to revoke, or cancel, your estate plan in Arizona. One way is by destroying your will or other estate planning instrument you wish to revoke. There is no specific way you need to destroy your will- you can burn it, tear it, shred it, as long as you make it clear that you mean for it to be destroyed. Even if someone manages to piece together the burnt tatters of your revoked will, the court will uphold the revocation as long as it is clear that you intended to revoke it. But this leaves you with the issue of not having one or more parts of your estate plan in place. You should create a new document to replace the one you destroyed as soon as possible. You should also alert anyone who knew of the document that was revoked of your new intentions so that there isn’t any confusion after you pass away.

Another way to revoke your will and other parts of your estate plan is by creating a new, inconsistent document to replace it. The terms of your new document must be materially inconsistent from the original document. If you use this method, your most recently created document will be the one the court uses after you pass away. But multiple wills, trusts, and other estate planning instruments that need to be sorted by date can be confusing for your family members. In your new document, you should include a provision that this document is meant to replace a previous one, with any descriptors necessary. If you’re looking to update your estate plan, don’t take any risks. Discuss your situation with one of our experienced Gilbert estate planning lawyers. We offer affordable rates and your initial consultation is free of charge.

Estate planning lawyers will help you find a creative way to avoid probate because of the disadvantages it offers:

• It takes a long time: You can usually expect the probate process to take up to 6 months, and even longer for larger and more complicated estates. Court delays, executor procrastination, challenges to your will, and other factors can also extend the probate process. So if your family is relying on funds or assets from your estate, probate can put them in a bind until completed.

• It’s a lot of responsibility for your executor: A vital part of moving an estate through probate is assigning an executor. If you haven’t designated one in your will, it will be the court’s responsibility to pick one for you. In some cases, your estate’s executor could end up being a complete stranger, or even one of your creditors. Therefore, you will want to be sure to pick someone who is responsible and stays on top deadlines to be your estate’s executor. However, you may not have anyone in mind, or may not want to burden them with all the responsibilities that come with being an executor. Additionally, your executor can charge a reasonable rate to work on moving your estate through probate and then distributing it amongst your beneficiaries, which can eat away at your estate’s total value.

• It can be stressful: The last thing you probably want is for your family to spend months or even years fighting over your last wishes in court after you pass away. Typos and miscommunications can result in your estate being distributed drastically differently than you intended.

• It can be expensive: When someone disputes your will or challenges any other part of your estate plan, it won’t just hurt your family by causing emotional turmoil. Unless they are knowledgeable about Arizona estate and probate laws, they will probably need to hire a probate lawyer to represent them in any disputes. Probate lawyers charge by the hour, so the more hiccups there are in the probate process, the more it will cost your loved ones. There will also be additional costs like court fees and process server fees.

• It compromises privacy: When assets are passed down through a will, and go through the probate process, it becomes a matter of public record. Some issues may even need to be hashed out in a courtroom, in front of a judge, attorneys, and other people you and your family don’t know. Gifts, trusts, and other forms of transfer can help protect your family’s privacy.

With all of these downsides, it’s no wonder that so many people aim to minimize or avoid probate entirely when planning their estates. But the default in Arizona is that every estate should go through probate. However, estates under certain values can skip the probate process using a small estate affidavit. The limits for a small estate affidavit in Arizona are $75,000 in personal property and $100,000 in real property. Real property is another term for real estate when it comes to estate planning. Personal property refers to just about every other type of property.

While $75,000 and $100,000 might sound like high numbers at first glance, your estate could actually easily exceed Arizona’s small estate limits. If you own your home, you will want to start by checking how much equity you currently have. Vehicles, bank accounts, stocks and bonds, and antiques and collectibles can quickly add up to reach Arizona’s personal property limit for small estates. Depending on how your estate is composed, there may be some flexibility to help you qualify for a small estate affidavit in Arizona.

An experienced financial advisor may be able to help you determine the total value of your estate. Plus, you can also discuss your estate with an estate planning lawyer, who should be able to help you estimate your estate’s value.  Our experienced Gilbert Estate Planning Lawyers offer free consults and affordable rates.

Is your estate just on the edge of meeting Arizona’s small estate affidavit requirements? Do you have little need for some of your assets, or already know who you want to have them? Do you have family members you can trust to not abuse access to your assets before you pass away? You may be able to utilize some estate planning strategies to qualify for an affidavit.

Give loved ones assets as gifts while you are still alive: A simple way to make sure your estate qualifies for a small estate affidavit is by reducing its size while you are still alive. If you’re using this strategy, you will probably want to avoid gift taxes in the process. Arizona is a state that doesn’t have a gift tax, but you still need to keep federal gift taxes in mind. The yearly limit before federal gift taxes are triggered is $15,000 per recipient.

Name your loved one as the recipient on a payable on death (POD) account: The concept of payable on death accounts is pretty self-explanatory. You will list a loved one to receive the account upon your death, and if you wish, an alternate recipient. The contents of a POD account will transfer immediately to the recipient once your bank has been alerted of your death (which usually means providing them with your death certificate). Because the account has already been transferred to the beneficiary, its value won’t count towards your estate’s total value for small estate affidavit purposes.

Transfer your money and assets to loved ones through trusts: Trusts can reduce your estate’s value to avoid probate, and offer many other benefits to those who use them in their estate plans. They can help maintain your estate’s value by avoiding certain types of taxes. You can also specify exactly how you would like the assets in your trusts to be used. For example, you can create a trust that can only be used for your grandchildren’s college education, or that is meant to care for your wife’s home care and other medical treatments. Or, you can create a trust that will only transfer when a certain condition is met, such as when your child turns 30 or gets married.

Change the title of your property to a joint tenancy with right of survivorship: If one of your family members is a joint owner of your property, that asset won’t need to go through probate for your family member to continue using it after you pass away. Because Arizona is a community property state, you can also hold property together with rights of survivorship to avoid probate.

Contact My AZ Lawyers experienced estate planning legal team in order to discuss your specific legal needs regarding an estate plan. Protecting your future is a priority, and our law firm offers a free consultation. Call us to schedule and find out why My AZ Lawyers is what Arizona residents expect from a dedicated, professional legal office.

You can also give the person you select, your agent or representative, the right to make medical decisions on your behalf, or you can narrow their scope of authority. Our Gilbert estate planning attorneys can help you with all of your Power of Attorney needs- call 480-833-8000 or use our online form to schedule your free consultation.

General Durable Power of Attorney

This type of power of attorney encompasses many types of business and financial responsibilities. You can revoke this power of attorney at any time that you are legally mentally competent. You can also indicate just when you would like a power of attorney to take effect- for example, you could require the medical opinion of one physician, or two or more physicians.

Special Power of Attorney

This type of power of attorney is used when you want to give your agent less authority to act on your behalf. It can be used for a small range of responsibilities, or just one specific transaction. It doesn’t always need to be used in medical emergency situations- many people use them when they will be out of the country or otherwise unavailable to complete a specific transaction.

Health Care Power of Attorney

This type of power of attorney is used solely for decisions regarding your health care and mental health care treatments. This will give your agent the authority to decide on issues like whether you would like to be kept on life support, whether you should donate your organs, and more. You can also use an advanced health care directive to indicate how you would like your agent to decide on these issues.

Revocation of Power of Attorney. Maybe you no longer have a need for your power of attorney, or you want to assign these responsibilities to someone else. If so, you will need to revoke, or cancel, the power of attorney. The person named in your revoked power of attorney will need to be properly notified of the revocation. Doctors, bankers, and anyone else who interacted with the agent should be informed as well.

Whether you’re looking to create your estate plan or make changes to one already in place, our Gilbert estate planning lawyers are here to help. Our attorneys offer expertise and compassion to help you create the most strategic estate plan possible. We can help you find the perfect combination of a will, trusts, powers of attorney, advanced health care directives, and more. Our rates are affordable and you can pay your fees in a budget-friendly payment plan. Don’t wait until it’s too late to create your estate plan- pick up the phone and call 480-833-8000 to schedule your free consultation