How often should you update your estate plan?

Key Takeaways

• Review your estate plan every two to five years. Major life, health or financial changes may warrant an earlier review.
• Check asset titling and beneficiaries annually. Outdated designations can undermine even a well-crafted estate plan.
• Your estate plan should evolve as circumstances and laws, like the SECURE Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, change. Regular reviews can help protect assets and avoid unnecessary costs.

A thoughtful estate plan is designed to grow and evolve alongside the life it protects. As families, finances and laws change, periodic reviews offer an opportunity to make sure your plan continues to reflect your priorities, protect the people you care about and preserve the legacy you’ve worked to build.

“If nothing significant has changed in your life, review your estate plan every two to five years,” says Michael Sukup, director of trust and estate planning at Prime Capital Financial. That window is long enough to avoid needless paperwork, but short enough to catch changes to state law or the tax code before they matter.

Sukup also recommends updating power of attorney documents, both health care and financial, every 10 years. Older versions can be harder for a bank, hospital or other institution to accept quickly when a named agent needs to act.

When to review sooner

Certain events call for a review right away, no matter when the plan was last touched.

• The death of anyone named in the plan, such as a beneficiary, successor trustee, or power of attorney agent
• A birth, adoption, marriage or divorce in the family
• A move to a new state
• A major medical diagnosis
• The purchase of a home, second home or other real estate
• A significant change in financial standing, such as an inheritance
• Starting or buying a business

What people forget to update

The most commonly overlooked area, according to Sukup, is the titling of assets and beneficiary designations tied to trust planning or other non-probate transfers.

He recommends keeping a running list of assets and reviewing it once a year to confirm each one is titled correctly and every beneficiary designation is current.

This is especially important for estate plans created years earlier. Parents might be named as successor trustees or granted powers of attorney. But as they age into their 70s and 80s, the plan should be updated, if needed, to reflect whether they’re still able to serve.

What an outdated plan can cost

It’s common to see estate plans written when children are young, promising a lump sum of assets when they turn 25. The problem arises when the plan is never revisited.

Children might need extra support because of disability or the circumstances of their lives. Or, a child might face creditor judgments or struggle with substance abuse. Without protections in place, the inherited wealth could be exposed to creditors or further enable addictive behaviors.

Married couples with revocable trusts should also update their plans regularly. Over the years, the couple might open new accounts and buy real estate in other states, all titled jointly, without ever revisiting the trust or titling.

Those assets skip probate when the first spouse dies, but not when the second spouse dies, triggering a lengthy, costly probate process that can run 3% to 7% of the estate’s fair market value, Sukup says. Because the real estate spans multiple states, probate may also be required in multiple states.

Law changes worth a second look

Two recent laws are reason enough to review a plan even if nothing in your family has changed. The SECURE Act and its follow-up, SECURE 2.0, rewrote what happens to an inherited IRA, replacing the old lifetime “stretch” option with a 10-year payout window for most non-spouse beneficiaries.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption to $15 million per person, or $30 million for married couples, starting Jan. 1, 2026. Depending on your situation, that change could affect what your plan needs to do.

The two-to-five-year check Sukup recommends is a good baseline. But a major life event, financial change or change in the law may warrant another look sooner. A conversation with your Prime Capital Financial advisor is the fastest way to find out where yours stands.

Final thought

An estate plan should reflect not only what you’ve built, but where life is headed. Reviewing it periodically can provide confidence that your wishes remain clear, your loved ones are protected and your wealth is positioned to support the people and priorities that matter most.

Frequently asked questions

How often should I review my estate plan?

Every two to five years, if nothing significant has changed. Power of attorney documents should be refreshed roughly every 10 years.

What life events should trigger an immediate estate plan review?

The death of anyone named in the plan, a birth, adoption, marriage, or divorce, a move to a new state, or a major medical diagnosis.

What financial changes should trigger a review?

Buying real estate, a significant change in financial standing such as an inheritance, or starting or buying a business.

What part of an estate plan do people most often forget to update?

Asset titling and beneficiary designations tied to trust planning or other non-probate transfers.

Do recent tax law changes affect my estate plan?

Yes. SECURE 2.0 changed the rules for inherited IRAs, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised the federal estate and gift tax exemption to $15 million per person starting in 2026.