Keeping Estate Documents Current

Wills, Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, and Healthcare Powers of Attorney should be revised when circumstances change, such as the death or incapacity of a person named as a beneficiary, attorney-in-fact, or executor.  Even absent such changes, some estate planning documents should be routinely updated, just to keep them current.

It is most important to keep your Power of Attorney current – we recommend updating it every five years.  Financial services companies, such as banks, are not legally required to accept a Power of Attorney.  We find that institutions are increasingly likely to reject a Power of Attorney if it is more than three to five years old.  Moreover, continual changes in the law make it advantageous to keep this document up to date. 

Ideally, Living Wills and Healthcare Powers of Attorney should be updated at least every five years, to incorporate changes in Ohio law. 

If you are over age 80 or are in poor health, we recommend that you update your Power of Attorney, Living Will, and Healthcare Power of Attorney every three years because you are more likely to need someone to act on your behalf.

Regarding your Last Will and Testament, as long as the executors and distributions to named beneficiaries are as you desire, there is no need to make an update.