How often should you update your will?
Every three to five years, and immediately after any of eight events.
The short answer
Review your will every three to five years, and update it straight away after eight specific events: a birth or adoption, a death among your beneficiaries or appointees, a marriage, a divorce, buying or selling property, moving to another state, a significant change in assets, or a change of mind about who should act.
The most common defect in American estate plans is not a missing will. It is a will that was correct in 2016 and describes a family that no longer exists.
The eight triggers
A birth or adoption. A death, particularly of an executor, guardian, trustee or beneficiary. A marriage. A divorce. Buying or selling real property. Moving to another state. A significant change in what you own. And any change of mind about who should act for you.
Any one of these is a reason to open the document that week rather than at the next review.
Why moving state matters more than people think
A will validly executed in one state is generally recognised in another, so you are not suddenly without one. What differs is the detail: community property rules, spousal elective share, and whether your new state offers a self proving affidavit.
Powers of attorney are the more urgent reissue. They are the most state specific documents in a plan and the ones used under time pressure at a bank or a hospital.
Amend or replace?
For most people, replacing is cleaner than amending. A new will revokes every earlier one, so there is no argument about which version governs and no codicil to lose.
Destroy the old physical copies afterwards. A superseded will found in a drawer is a reliable source of family conflict.
What to check at each review
Are the executor, guardian, trustee and every alternate still alive, willing and reachable? Do the specific gifts still refer to things you own? Are the beneficiary designations on your accounts consistent with the will?
And can your executor find the signed original? A plan nobody can locate is not a plan.
Questions people also ask
Does divorce automatically cancel my will?
Most states revoke gifts to a former spouse on divorce, but the rules vary and they do not touch beneficiary designations governed by federal law. Treat divorce as a full rewrite rather than assuming the statute handles it.
Do I need a new will when I have another child?
Usually you should update it. Many wills refer to children as a class, which covers later arrivals, but guardianship choices and how shares are split are worth revisiting deliberately.
Does updating a will cost money?
With an attorney, generally yes, typically $100 to $400 for a codicil or re-execution. On Legacy Buddy every paid plan includes unlimited free edits, which is the point of a subscription for a document that ages.
Legacy Buddy provides document creation tools, not legal advice.
Knowing what to do is the hard part. This is the easy part.
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