2025 was a tough year for many people. Personally, I lost my father and two beloved dogs in the final quarter of 2025, capping off a truly awful year.
My long-term significant other (we like the term “spouse-adjacent”) and I have adopted the motto “Reset, Rejuvenate and Redirect” for 2026. I don’t think we’re alone.
As times change, so do relationships and objectives. If you’re looking to reset, rejuvenate or redirect in 2026, let me encourage you to review your estate plan and see if it still aligns with your family bonds, friendships, values and goals. Estate plans are not “set it and forget it” plans.
There are several items that indicate a need to update your plan.
Who acts on your behalf?
Do you recall whom you named to act as your executor, successor trustee, power of attorney or agent on your health care directive? If not, it’s definitely time to check those documents.
Are the people named still the people you’d want to take care of you and/or your assets in the event of your death or incapacity? Are they able to do so? Perhaps your parents are older and no longer able to act for you, or perhaps they shouldn’t have that burden even if they were willing. Maybe your children are older and can now act for you? Are you still in touch with the friend or relative you named? Has he/she moved?
You want to be certain you’ve named persons who are ready, willing and able to act on your behalf, and persons whom you trust to carry out your plan. Those qualifications tend to change over time.
Who are the beneficiaries?
The people you named as beneficiaries of your estate years ago may not be whom you would name today. Perhaps you’ve gotten married or divorced, had a child, became estranged from a child or maybe there are now grandchildren you’d like to include. Any of these happenings are changes that indicate you need to review your estate plan.
Sometimes, it’s not just whom you’ve named, but how they’ve been named. If, for example, you have left a gift to your “grandchildren,” it may be that at the time of creating your trust you knew exactly who your grandchildren were. But now, perhaps that’s changed.
Did one of your children have a biological child that he/she has no contact with? Do you mean to include that grandchild? If not, you will need to specifically exclude that grandchild, as legally, he/she would be considered one of your grandchildren by law. Does one of your children now have a stepchild that the child is raising but hasn’t adopted?
If you mean to include that child in the definition of “grandchildren,” you will need to specifically state that in your will and trust, as “steps” are not considered legal heirs.
What terms are in your trust?
It’s common to include provisions in a trust that distribute some or all of a child beneficiary’s share of assets to the child at certain ages. For example, a common provision is to distribute 1/3 of the assets when the child reaches age 25, half of the remaining assets at age 30 and all of the remaining assets at age 35. Other ages can, of course, be stated. The point is, do the ages specified in your trust still make sense?
Are there any new circumstances that would require a change in the terms of your gifts? Does one of your beneficiaries have special needs and receive needs-based government benefits? If so, you may want your trust to have provisions for a special-needs trust that will not cause your beneficiary to lose or see a reduction in government benefits.
Do you have a beneficiary with a gambling or drug addiction? Perhaps a distribution to such beneficiary will do more harm than good, and the person’s share should be reduced, eliminated or remain in trust. Similarly, if you have a beneficiary whom you no longer have the same relationship with — whether that’s a relative, a friend or a charity — perhaps it’s time to remove the beneficiary from your trust. And, on a happier note, are there dear friends or relatives or charities you now would like to leave a gift to? That will require an update to your documents as well.
What about a blended family?
In the “times are changing” or perhaps the “It’s rough out there” categories, I’m sorry to report we have seen an uptick in litigation between stepparents and stepchildren following the death of the spouse/ parent. Often, the litigation arises because the trust document governing how assets are to be distributed, or for whose benefit the assets are held in trust, is vague.
Sometimes, that’s because parties assumed everyone would get along the same way they did when mom or dad was alive. Years later, especially if the stepparent remarries, that’s often not the case.
If you can avoid having one party (usually the children) sit around waiting for another party (usually the stepparent) to die before getting an inheritance, please consider that. A life insurance payable to one party, with the other assets (house, bank accounts, etc.) outright to the other party, can be a good option.
Also, make sure your trust states your priorities — is the priority providing for the surviving spouse even if all assets are used up, or is it preservation of principal for the children? Does your spouse have the right to withdraw assets for any reason or must the spouse prove “need” and if so, who decides whether the need is valid?
When a home is the separate property of one spouse — we’ll call this spouse A — and spouse A desires to have spouse B continue living in the house after spouse A’s death, very careful planning is needed. What if spouse B wants to downsize? Who can veto a replacement property? What happens to the proceeds from a sale? Who pays for repairs? Maintenance? And who decides what repairs or maintenance are needed?
This is another scenario that requires your attention and vigilance, because it’s one that causes a lot of heartache.
Sometimes,r to move forward, we have to look back. In this year of the Horse, you may be ready to charge forward, and I wish you (us!) well. Just make sure your legal documents incorporate the goals of the new you.
Teresa J. Rhyne is an attorney practicing in estate planning and trust administration in Riverside and Paso Robles. She is also the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of “The Dog Lived (and So Will I)” and “Poppy in The Wild.” You can reach her at Teresa@trlawgroup.net.
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