When you are wealthy, it’s vital that you plan for your death. Your estate is valuable, and you want to make sure as much of that estate as possible goes to the people or causes you want to see benefit from your hard work. Regardless of your wealth, everyone should have an estate plan, but as someone who has much to lose, it’s extremely important to plan early.
Estate plans, once developed, need to be updated regularly. States, along with the government, change laws surrounding estate plans often. That could mean you’ll end up paying fewer or more taxes than expected or that you need to change the wording in your estate to guarantee the avoidance of probate.
If you have international interests and assets, it’s particularly wise to have a detailed estate plan. You’ll need to tweak it often to make sure it covers all your assets and what you want to see happen to them in the unfortunate event of your death.
AESNation reports that out of 10 accomplished business owners, at least nine have estate plans that are five years old or older. A lot can change in five years, and it’s likely that people who don’t update their estate plans could be missing out on changes that would help them maximize their estates and limit their taxes. Changes could also mean that the wealth could be distributed in ways they weren’t expecting. To avoid this, make sure you check on your estate every time a major event occurs in your life or every year or two, just to keep it updated.
Source: Forbes, “Why Continuous Estate Planning Is Essential For The Rich And Super-Rich,” Russ Alan Prince, Sep. 06, 2017
