6 Times you should consider amending your Florida revocable trust.

Most of us will make more than one will in our lifetime. Circumstances    change: new beneficiaries are born, old ones die, and often relationships change and unfortunately sometimes it becomes necessary to disinherit a previous beneficiary. When these situations change so does your estate plan, at least it should. Strangely people seem to remember to create new wills much more than they remember to audit and change their living trusts. This always shocks me as aPalm Beach Probate Attorney because one of the primary benefits of a revocable living trust is just that – its flexibility to adapt.

• You can change just about anything about a revocable trust through amendment
• You can change its terms or even end it altogether.
• Assuming that this is a shared trust with a spouse both of you hold this power.
• With a shared trust one has to remember that both spouses have to sign to change abeneficiary or trustee.

Few people realize it but almost any large life change that effects your family will likely also effect your estate plan, and that includes your living trusts. Here are the 6 most common things that prompt our clients to change the terms of their living trusts.

1. You get married. This one is just obvious but it is often ignored. Weddings are stressful and then you (hopefully) have a honeymoon, then you get back and all that work is piled up. The estate plan falls to the side. The problem with this is that you know when it actually becomes a problem? When you want a divorce and the trust is effected or worse you die and the trust does not do what you intended.
2. You have a child. Earlier today I posted about Australia’s Secret Daughter which just shows the fact that if you do not look out for your children the courts may do it for you. The bigger more common point though is that you do not want your children fighting over your assets when your gone or before hand. That is why amending a trust while you still can is so important.
3. You choose to disinherit a relative. Maybe everyone knows you and that rude niece do not talk anymore but if you fail to amend you trust, the property goes where the trust said it goes.
4. You move out of Florida. If you are previously a resident of West Palm Beach and are moving to another state marital property and property management for beneficiaries laws may vary.
5. Your spouse dies. .This could materially alter everything from who the beneficiary to who the trustee is and a revision is most likely necessary.
6. Another major beneficiary dies.  Anytime a major beneficiary dies you should rethinkyour estate plan to ensure that the trust assets are safe and so that everyone knows who the new beneficiaries are.

On the other hand if you are divorcing you may want to consider revoking the trust all together, just start fresh!