Why your Estate Plan May Not Match your Intentions

Key Takeaways:
  • Regularly review your estate plan (at least every three years) to ensure it remains effective.
  • In addition to changes in family circumstances, pay attention to shifts in property and tax laws. 
  • Working with a trust advisor to review your plan can give you and your family peace of mind your legacy will be protected.

 

Most people assume their estate plan still reflects their wishes. But life shifts, laws evolve and families change. If your plan hasn’t kept up, it may no longer do what you expect. And when an outdated plan surfaces, it usually happens at the worst possible time.

Your estate plan should be a tool that protects your family and carries out your intentions. To stay effective, it needs periodic attention, not because something is wrong, but because life rarely stands still. 

Here are the common reasons estate plans drift off course and why a proactive review matters:

  1. Your Legal and Estate Planning Documents are Outdated

Our lives at age 30 tend to look a bit different than age 60. Perhaps you didn’t need a trust when you first drafted your estate plan, but now you do. It’s important to make sure the arrangements you made years ago are still appropriate for your financial situation.

Be sure to also consider the individuals you’ve appointed as representatives, such as executors, trustees and guardians for minor children. Are they still the best people to fill these very important roles?

2. Your Family Circumstances Have Changed 

Families evolve. Children grow up. Grandchildren arrive. New relationships form. Divorces or blended families reshape expectations. Special needs situations emerge. Any change in your family structure can upend even the most carefully drafted plan.

If your beneficiaries, guardianship choices or distribution wishes have shifted, your existing documents may no longer make sense. A plan that once fit well can become misaligned without anyone realizing it.

Common family circumstance changes that could impact your estate plan:

  1. Marriage or divorce
  2. Birth or adoption of children or grandchildren
  3. Death in the family
  4. Family member’s illness or disability
  5. Child reaching adulthood

The bottom line: Make sure your estate plan meets your family’s current needs. If your family experiences a change in circumstance, be sure to promptly modify your estate plan to reflect it. 

3. The Property Laws in Your State Have Shifted

Property laws are not universal, and they don’t remain static. If your estate plan is 20+ years old or you relocated to a different state, your rights may have changed. For instance, joint tenancy with right of survivorship didn’t exist 10 years ago. These legislative shifts can have a significant impact on your plan’s beneficiary designations. 

An example of how this could happen: 

  • You currently reside and own property in Kansas but decide to retire in Florida. 
  • Even though you plan to become a Florida resident, you decide to keep your Kansas home too. 
  • Because each state’s laws differ in the spousal protections they provide, your estate plan must adapt to Florida’s spousal protections to avoid unintended disinheritance or invalid transfers.

To ensure your plan accurately reflects your wishes for any property you own, consider regularly reviewing everything from property titles to state tax treatments. This is especially critical if you own properties in multiple states. 

4. Your Plan is Based on Outdated Tax Laws

If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that tax laws will change. Estate tax thresholds, gifting rules and retirement account distribution requirements have all changed significantly, especially with Secure Act 1 and 2 and, more recently, with the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act.

One of the most significant estate tax law changes brought about by the OBBB is the increase of the federal estate and gift tax exemption. Starting on January 1, 2026, the exemption will increase from $13.99 million to $15 million for single filers ($27.98 million to $30 million for married couples). The change is permanent, meaning this provision does not have a scheduled end date; the exemption amount will be increased for inflation each year. 

What this means for you: What was tax-efficient when your plan was drafted may be far from optimal now. Funding formulas and distribution strategies that once made sense can become ineffective, or even counterproductive, under new legislation. Without updates, your plan could unintentionally create tax burdens or shift wealth in ways you never intended. 

Consider consulting with your tax advisor

Bringing your tax advisor into your estate plan review can help to ensure your plan accounts for the most recent tax law changes. It can also allow you to maximize gifts to beneficiaries as well as your tax savings.  

Estate Planning Should Be an Ongoing Journey

A solid estate plan is not a one-time project. It’s a living framework that needs to evolve as your life, goals and circumstances change. A good rule of thumb is to review your plan every three years and confirm that every component, from document structure to beneficiary designations, still reflects your wishes.

A good starting point is to review these key areas:

  • Legal and estate planning documents
  • Appointed representatives
  • Family circumstances
  • Assets and liabilities
  • Beneficiary designations and asset distribution
  • Healthcare directives
  • Current property laws
  • Current tax laws

Working with a trust advisor to regularly update your plan can help to ensure it remains effective. Having the support of a professional can also give you and your family peace of mind that your legacy will be protected.

Questions?

If you have questions or concerns about your estate plan, or if you haven’t reviewed it in a while, Adams Brown Trust Solutions can help. We can provide a thorough review of your plan to identify outdated documents and recommend updates. With an in-house team of trust, tax, accounting and wealth management experts, we can seamlessly align your plan with your broader goals. Contact an Adams Brown trust advisor today.