An estate plan does not need to be rewritten every few years simply because time has passed.
But it should be reviewed periodically and after major changes in your family, assets, health, or wishes.
Sometimes that review leads to an amendment, restatement, or replacement document.
Sometimes the correct answer is:
Nothing needs to change.
A useful rule is to review your estate plan every three to five years and sooner after a significant life event.
Here are the events that should trigger a closer look.
1. You Get Married
Marriage changes both your family and your legal rights.
If your estate plan was created while you were single, it may:
omit your new spouse;
name former beneficiaries;
use fiduciaries who are no longer appropriate;
contain an outdated distribution plan; or
conflict with new beneficiary designations or property ownership.
Utah also gives surviving spouses statutory inheritance rights that can affect an estate even when the existing will says something different.
Those statutory protections are a safety net. They are not a substitute for an intentional estate plan.
After marriage, review:
your will;
your trust;
financial power of attorney;
health care directive;
life-insurance beneficiaries;
retirement-account beneficiaries;
POD and TOD accounts; and
title to real estate.
Blended families deserve particular attention because each spouse may have children from an earlier relationship.
Learn About Estate Planning for Blended Families
2. You Separate or Divorce
Do not wait until years after a divorce to review your estate plan.
Utah law automatically changes some estate-planning rights following divorce, and other documents contain their own rules concerning separation or divorce.
But relying on statutory defaults can produce uncertainty.
A divorce review should include:
wills;
revocable trusts;
trustee appointments;
financial powers of attorney;
health care directives;
life insurance;
retirement accounts;
POD and TOD beneficiaries; and
real-estate ownership.
This is particularly important for retirement plans.
Some employer-sponsored retirement plans are governed by federal law. Federal ERISA rules can preempt state statutes that would otherwise automatically revoke an ex-spouse's beneficiary designation.
The safest practice is therefore simple:
Update the beneficiary designation directly with the plan administrator when appropriate.
Do not assume the divorce decree, Utah law, or your new will automatically fixes every beneficiary designation.
3. You Have or Adopt a Child
A new child should prompt an estate-plan review.
For parents of minor children, the plan should address two separate questions:
Who should care for the child?
and
Who should manage the child's inheritance?
Utah allows a parent to nominate a guardian by will or another qualifying written instrument.
The estate plan should also determine how property is managed for the child.
Possible structures include:
outright inheritance at adulthood;
holding property until a stated age;
staged distributions;
continuing lifetime trusts; or
special-needs planning when appropriate.
If you already have a trust, confirm that its definition of descendants or children properly includes later-born or adopted children.
Do not simply assume it does.
Learn About Estate Planning for New Parents
4. Your Children Become Adults
A plan prepared when your children were five years old may not be the plan you would choose when they are 25.
As children mature, reconsider:
who should serve as trustee;
whether an outside trustee is still necessary;
when the child should gain control;
whether distributions should occur outright or remain in trust;
whether creditor or divorce protection matters;
whether the child can eventually serve as trustee; and
what happens if the child dies before you.
You may discover that the old distribution age still makes sense.
Or you may decide that keeping the inheritance in a continuing trust provides a better balance between protection and control.
Learn How to Structure a Trust for Children
5. A Beneficiary Dies or Your Relationship Changes
Estate plans should include backup provisions, but those provisions may no longer reflect what you want.
If a beneficiary dies before you, ask:
Who receives that person's share?
For example, should it pass to:
that beneficiary's children;
your other beneficiaries;
a spouse;
a charity; or
someone else?
The same review is appropriate if you become estranged from a beneficiary or your relationship changes substantially.
A document does not update itself because your relationship changed.
6. Your Trustee, Personal Representative, or Agent Is No Longer the Right Person
The people who serve in your estate plan can matter as much as the distribution provisions.
Review the plan if a named fiduciary:
dies;
becomes incapacitated;
moves away;
becomes unreliable;
develops financial problems;
becomes estranged from you;
no longer wants to serve; or
is simply no longer the person you would choose today.
This applies to your:
trustee;
successor trustee;
personal representative;
financial agent;
health care agent; and
guardian nominations.
I generally prefer naming at least one appropriate backup rather than relying on a single person remaining available indefinitely.
7. You Buy or Sell a Home
Real estate should trigger both an estate-plan review and a funding review.
If your revocable trust is intended to avoid probate for your home, purchasing a new property does not automatically place that property into the trust.
Review the recorded deed.
Ask:
Who actually owns the property now?
If the home should be in the trust, an appropriate deed generally needs to be prepared and recorded.
If you sell trust-owned real estate and purchase a replacement property, make sure the replacement property's ownership remains coordinated with the plan.
A beautifully drafted trust cannot avoid probate for property it never owns.
Learn How to Fund a Revocable Living Trust
8. You Receive a Significant Inheritance
Receiving an inheritance can materially change your estate.
It may increase:
the amount your beneficiaries will receive;
your exposure to federal estate tax;
the need for asset-protection planning;
the importance of trust planning;
the complexity of your investments; or
the amount of property requiring administration after death.
You should also determine how the inherited property is titled.
If you have an existing revocable trust, the inheritance does not necessarily become trust property automatically.
9. Your Wealth Changes Significantly
A plan created when you had $500,000 of assets may deserve another look when your estate is worth $5 million or $15 million.
The beneficiaries may be the same, but the planning questions can change.
For example, a larger estate may make you reconsider:
outright distributions to children;
creditor protection;
estate-tax exposure;
charitable planning;
business succession;
life-insurance planning; and
advanced trusts.
For deaths in 2026, the federal basic estate-and-gift-tax exclusion is $15 million per individual.
Most Utah families remain below the federal estate-tax threshold, but business growth, appreciation, inheritance, and life insurance can change the analysis.
Learn About Advanced Estate Planning
10. You Start, Buy, or Sell a Business
A business can become one of the most important assets in an estate plan.
If you start or acquire a business, review:
whether the ownership interest should be coordinated with your trust;
what the operating agreement says about death and incapacity;
who should receive the business;
who should manage it;
whether other owners have purchase rights; and
whether family members who inherit the business should actually control it.
If you sell the business, the planning issue changes.
A concentrated business interest may become cash or investments, potentially changing your tax exposure, beneficiary planning, and asset-protection needs.
Learn About Estate Planning for Utah Business Owners
11. You Open New Financial Accounts
New accounts are easy to overlook.
Whenever you open a significant new bank or investment account, ask how it fits into the estate plan.
Depending on the account, you may want to:
title it in the trust;
add a POD or TOD beneficiary;
coordinate a beneficiary designation; or
intentionally leave it outside the trust for another reason.
Do not assume that because your trust says “all my property” the financial institution automatically treats every new individually titled account as trust property.
12. Your Beneficiary Designations Change—or Have Not Been Reviewed in Years
Your will and trust do not control every asset.
Life insurance, retirement accounts, POD accounts, and TOD accounts can pass under beneficiary designations instead.
That means a beneficiary designation signed 15 years ago can potentially control a substantial asset even though your will or trust has since been updated.
Review beneficiary designations after:
marriage;
divorce;
death of a beneficiary;
birth of children;
creation of a trust;
major estate-plan revisions; or
a significant change in family circumstances.
The documents and beneficiary designations should work together.
13. You Move to Utah From Another State
Moving to Utah does not automatically invalidate a properly executed estate plan.
Utah recognizes many wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives validly created elsewhere.
But validity and good planning are different questions.
After moving, review whether:
the documents still fit your wishes;
fiduciaries are still practical choices;
Utah real estate has been properly titled;
old statutory references create confusion;
the power of attorney works well under Utah practice;
the health care directive reflects Utah's current law; and
trust administration should be moved to Utah.
Do not replace good documents merely because you crossed a state line.
Review them first.
14. The Law Changes
An estate plan can remain legally valid even after the law changes.
But changes in tax, trust, fiduciary, or health care law can create reasons to review the plan.
Utah has had several significant recent changes.
For example, Utah recodified much of its trust law into Title 75B in 2025.
Utah also adopted the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act, effective January 1, 2026.
That does not mean every older health care directive became invalid on January 1, 2026. Utah expressly preserves qualifying older directives.
But the new statutory framework may still be a reason to review:
who your health care agent is;
whether alternates are appropriate;
whether your instructions remain current; and
whether you prefer a document drafted under current Utah law.
The goal is not to chase every statutory amendment.
It is to determine whether a legal change affects your actual plan.
15. Your Health Changes
A serious diagnosis or decline in health should prompt an estate-plan review while you remain able to make your own decisions.
Pay particular attention to:
successor trustees;
financial agents;
health care agents;
trust funding;
access to financial information;
beneficiary designations; and
where the original documents are stored.
The purpose is not merely to prepare for death.
A large part of estate planning concerns who can act during incapacity.
If cognitive decline is beginning, do not assume a diagnosis automatically eliminates legal capacity.
Capacity depends on the particular document and the person's abilities at the relevant time.
But delaying until capacity is unquestionably gone can eliminate voluntary planning options.
Learn About Estate Planning for Aging Parents
16. A Beneficiary Develops a Disability or Receives Means-Tested Benefits
An inheritance that was appropriate when a beneficiary was healthy may create problems if that beneficiary later receives means-tested government benefits.
An outright inheritance can potentially interfere with eligibility for programs such as SSI or Medicaid.
A properly designed Special Needs Trust may provide a better structure.
If a child or other beneficiary develops a significant disability, review the estate plan before the inheritance occurs.
Learn About Special Needs Trusts in Utah
17. You Want Different Inheritance Terms
You do not need a marriage, death, tax-law change, or other dramatic event to update your estate plan.
Changing your mind is enough.
You may decide that:
a beneficiary should receive more or less;
a charitable gift should be added or removed;
children's distributions should occur at different ages;
an inheritance should remain in trust;
a different person should serve as trustee;
a specific asset should go to someone else; or
your overall plan no longer reflects your priorities.
A revocable estate plan is intended to be changed while you retain the legal ability to change it.
How Often Should You Review an Estate Plan?
For many people, every three to five years is a reasonable review interval.
That is not a legal expiration date.
A properly executed will does not become invalid merely because five years have passed.
A revocable trust does not need an amendment solely because it is old.
The purpose of the periodic review is to ask:
Does this plan still accomplish what I want?
Are the right people named?
Are my assets properly coordinated with it?
Has anything changed that matters?
If the answer is no, the best recommendation may be to leave the documents alone.
Review vs. Update
These terms should not be confused.
A review means examining the existing estate plan and current circumstances.
An update means actually changing something.
After a review, you might conclude that:
No changes are necessary.
Or you might need:
a limited trust amendment;
a trust restatement;
a new will;
a new power of attorney;
a new health care directive;
a new property deed;
updated beneficiary designations; or
a larger restructuring of the plan.
The scope should match the problem.
Amendment vs. Restatement
A trust amendment changes selected provisions of an existing trust.
That can work well when the changes are limited.
A trust restatement replaces most or all of the operative terms while generally continuing the existing trust arrangement.
A restatement can be cleaner when:
many provisions need to change;
several amendments already exist;
the trust is substantially outdated; or
the new plan is materially different.
Utah law generally permits a revocable trust to be amended according to the method stated in the trust and provides additional methods in certain circumstances.
Always review the trust's amendment provisions before making a change.
Can One Spouse Change a Joint Trust Without the Other?
It depends.
Each spouse generally controls their own will.
A joint revocable trust requires a more careful analysis.
Utah law distinguishes between property contributed by different settlors and provides default rules concerning revocation and amendment of multi-settlor trusts.
The trust itself may also specify how amendments must be made.
Do not assume that either spouse can unilaterally change every provision of a joint trust.
Review the actual document first.
Can My Agent Update My Trust If I Become Incapacitated?
Only if the necessary authority exists.
Under Utah law, an agent under a financial power of attorney may exercise a settlor's powers concerning revocation, amendment, or distribution of revocable-trust property only to the extent expressly authorized by the trust or power of attorney.
That is another reason to update the plan while you can make your own decisions rather than assuming someone else can rewrite it later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do wills expire in Utah?
No.
A properly executed will does not expire simply because time passes.
The issue is whether it still reflects your wishes and coordinates with your current assets and family.
How often should I update my trust?
There is no required schedule.
Review it periodically and after significant changes. Amend it only when there is something worth changing.
Is five years too old for an estate plan?
Not necessarily.
A five-year-old plan may still be excellent.
A six-month-old plan may already need revision if you divorced, bought new property, had a child, or changed your wishes.
Age is only one factor.
Should I update my estate plan after buying a house?
At minimum, review the property's title.
If your estate plan relies on a revocable trust to avoid probate, confirm that the new property was actually transferred or titled appropriately.
Do I need a new estate plan after moving to Utah?
Not automatically.
Properly executed out-of-state documents may remain valid. A Utah review can determine whether they should be kept, revised, or replaced.
Do I need a new health care directive because Utah changed the law in 2026?
Not automatically.
Utah preserves qualifying directives created before January 1, 2026.
A review can determine whether the existing directive still reflects your wishes and whether updating to the current framework would be useful.
Should I update my beneficiaries after divorce?
Yes, beneficiary designations deserve direct review after divorce.
Do not rely solely on automatic revocation statutes, particularly for employer retirement plans subject to federal law.
Can I make one small change without replacing everything?
Often, yes.
A limited trust amendment or replacement of one document may be sufficient.
The existing plan should be reviewed first to make sure the change does not create inconsistencies elsewhere.
How much does it cost to update an estate plan?
At Legacy Peak Estate Planning Law, estate-plan updates start at $400.
The actual cost depends on what needs to change. We review the existing plan and quote the work before making revisions.
Learn About Estate Plan Updates and Revisions
Review the Plan Before There Is a Problem
Estate plans do not become obsolete simply because they get older.
But families, property, fiduciaries, health, and laws change.
A periodic review allows you to catch those changes while they are still easy to address.
If the plan remains appropriate, leave it alone.
If something has changed, fix the specific problem.
Legacy Peak Estate Planning Law reviews wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives, beneficiary arrangements, and trust funding for Utah families.
We also review plans originally prepared by other attorneys.
Estate Plan Updates: Starting at $400