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New Year, New Will

Posted by Taylor Trapp Nicholl | Jan 04, 2023 | 0 Comments

With the excitement of the holidays right behind us and the hopefulness of a brand-new prosperous year ahead almost all of us have adopted the motto of “New Year, New Me”. Many of us are making sure to guarantee a good year by following our various New Year's traditions of eating pork and sauerkraut for good luck and progress in the upcoming year or eating black-eyed peas for luck and peace for the rest of the year. While following these New Year's superstitions are a fun way of prepping for a successful New Year the best way to achieve New Year, New Me status is through taking steps to proactively set yourself up for a more successful productive year to achieve your New Year' Resolutions. One of the first New Year's Resolutions you should check off your list is reviewing your Estate Planning Documents to make sure they still accurately reflect your wishes. New Year, New Will!

Many major life changes occur over the course of a year – some joyful and some sorrowful. While caught up in the hustle and bustle of life updating our Estate Plans to reflect our wishes and new life circumstances often falls to the wayside. Reviewing your Estate Plan every New Year will help ensure that your Estate Plan is always up to date and accurately reflecting your wishes.

Some common life changes that may trigger your Estate Plan to need to be updated include:

  • Change in Martial Status
  • Birth or Adoption of a Child
  • Large Change in Assets
  • Loss of Loved One

Reviewing your Estate Plan to ensure that it accurately reflects your wishes will help you feel a sense of relief and security entering the upcoming year.

Updating Your Will:

One of the most common Estate Planning documents is a Will. If after you and your family review your Will and you decide some aspects of your Will needs to be updated multiple options exist for making these changes. Some of the options include:

Amend with a Codicil. If you already have a Will in place and only require minor changes to your current Will you can make the changes with a Codicil. A Codicil is a document attached to your original Will stating the changes you would like made in your Will.

Creating a New Will. Creating a new Will has become the preferred way to change an Estate Plan over using a Codicil. However, creating a new Will without regard to the old one makes the Will vulnerable to court challenges. The old one must be emphatically revoked.

If you want to change or update your current Estate Plan, you need to make sure that it is done right. Not properly destroying or revoking the first Will can create problems when the Will goes through probate. 

At The Law Office of Trapp Nicholl, our estate attorney in Delaware will guide you through the process of changing your Will and making sure your Estate Plan accurately reflects your wishes. Contact us today by filling out our online form or calling us at (302) 253-8232 to schedule a free initial consultation. Make the call - New Year, New Will! 

About the Author

Taylor Trapp Nicholl

Your priority is her priority.

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