Save On Legal Fees!
Many people find an estate planning attorney when they are ready to establish a plan. They meet with the attorney, develop a plan, review drafts, and then execute the documents which will carry our their plan. However, many people do not stay in touch with their estate planning attorney. Life goes on and they think their estate plan is all set.
A concern that we see in our practice is that the lack of follow up with the prior attorney. And what is most common is that there was a trust established for one reason or another, real estate was placed into that trust, and then the real estate was sold, and new real estate was purchased. However, the new real estate was not placed into the trust. This can unravel the plan that they had previously put in place.
The easiest way to avoid extra legal fees is to develop a relationship with an estate planning attorney who you feel comfortable call when something major happens in your life. Moving to a new home, or purchasing a second home are examples of when to reach out to your estate planning attorney. By staying in touch with your estate planning attorney, they can help you to adapt your estate plan to be current with your lives with simple amendments or titling real estate a certain way. This can help avoiding having to redo an entire plan or having to pay additional filing/recording fees, which is more costly.
This spring, when you are doing your cleaning, pull out your estate plan (no matter how old!) and look over it. Look back and see if you have had a major life event, such as a move, or a big purchase, and contact your estate planning attorney. A short review by an attorney can help keep your plan current with your wishes and save your legal fees!