As an estate planning attorney, one of the most common questions I’m asked is: “How often should I review my estate plan?” While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, a good rule of thumb is to revisit your plan every three to five years, and sooner if you experience a major life change. Estate planning is not a “set it and forget it” task. Rather, it is a living set of documents that should evolve as your life and the law evolve.
Why Regular Reviews Matter
Your estate plan reflects your wishes at a moment in time. But marriages, divorces, births, deaths, changes in assets, and shifts in family dynamics can all quickly make a once-perfect plan outdated. If your documents do not reflect your current life, your estate may not be distributed as you intend.
Just as important: the legal landscape is constantly changing. Tax laws, probate rules, and trust regulations shift regularly, and those changes can materially affect your plan’s effectiveness.
An important element of your estate plan is your General Durable or Financial Power of Attorney. While these documents do not go stale legally, an old Financial Power of Attorney may not be readily accepted by a financial institution. Practically, it is a “best” practice to update these documents every couple of years even if the people you select as your representatives have not changed.
Inflation and Changing Federal Caps
Another key reason to review your estate plan every few years is the steady increase of federal tax thresholds driven by inflation and legislative changes. For context, the federal lifetime estate and gift tax exemption in 2016 was $5.45 million per individual, indexed for inflation at that time.
Fast forward to today: as of 2026, the exemption has risen sharply to $15 million per individual (or $30 million for married couples) following the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which increased and permanently extended the threshold starting January 1, 2026. This represents nearly a threefold increase since 2016, meaning an estate plan drafted a decade ago might contain formulas or tax-driven provisions that no longer operate as intended under today’s much higher exemption.
Similarly, the annual gift tax exclusion, the amount you can give to any one person each year without using your lifetime exemption, remains at $19,000 in 2026, a figure that has risen steadily over the past decade to keep pace with inflation. While this number stayed flat for 2026, its growth in previous years illustrates how inflation can materially change tax planning strategies over time.
Because these exemptions directly affect how much of your estate may be taxed at death, or how much you can transfer tax-free during your lifetime, documents drafted under older, much lower caps may no longer achieve your intended outcomes. For instance, formulas in older trusts that allocate assets based on outdated exemption amounts can unintentionally overfund or underfund certain provisions. Regular reviews help ensure your estate plan remains aligned with current laws, your financial landscape, and your family’s needs.
Additionally, with the increased exemption amounts it is tempting to think that the need for estate planning has been diminished. Remember each person can leave $15,000,000 to their beneficiaries tax free. If you have three beneficiaries this means they will each inherit $5,000,000. Such a sizable inheritance merits careful thought and planning to protect this legacy.
The Wills, Trusts & Estates team at Greenspoon Marder is here to help you navigate these changes. Our attorneys provide comprehensive reviews of existing estate plans, identify areas that may need updating, and ensure your documents remain aligned with current laws and your long-term goals. Whether it has been several years since your last review or you’ve experienced a recent life event, our team can help ensure your estate plan continues to protect you and the people who matter most.
