Wills: Estate Planning

[Darren Horrocks]

I am curious what ppls thoughts are on Estate Planning, and how often you update your Will after purchasing more and more property?

Any insights welcome!

[Bryan Mills]

First post on BP here, I'll add to what Edward B. posted.  If you have a Will, you only need to review/edit it when your circumstances change, whether that be marriage, children, increased wealth, etc. Nonetheless, it is usually a good idea to review your Will periodically to confirm that your current intentions and circumstances still match your Will.

You may decide to set up a revocable trust, in which you can transfer your properties (or entity interests if your properties are held in an entity) during lifetime.  Having assets in the revocable trust is essentially the same as you owning the asset personally, but allows you to avoid probate for those assets in the trust.  It can be of particular benefit when you own out-of-state property, so you can avoid the time and expense of multiple probates.  There is also a great deal of flexibility in drafting trusts, so a trust can really be tailored to your needs and goals. Of course this may differ state-to-state, but those are my general thoughts here in FL.

From there it can get significantly more complicated depending on your family situation, net worth, necessity for tax planning, entity structures, etc.  And finally, a disclaimer - I am not giving legal advice for any person in this forum nor am I creating any attorney-client relationship by this post.