Do I need to update my trust if I buy a house or open a bank account?

No. Your trust document is not asset-dependent. As long as you buy the house or open the bank account in the name of the trust then you are covered. The trust document does not determine whether the assets are in the name of the trust, the actual name on the asset does. (E.g. I can list your house in a list assets attached to your trust, but your house is only going to be in the trust if you complete the deed actually transferring title into the trust.)

In general, I suggest reviewing your estate plan every 3-5 years to make sure it still does what you want it to do. Reviewing your plan does NOT necessarily mean that you’re going to change it or update it. It’s really just taking a look and confirming that it is still what you want.

There are a few other reasons you might want to update your plan:

• a birth or adoption

• a death in the family

• a falling out or relationship change with someone that requires changing financial agents, healthcare agents, guardians, or even gifts

• a drastic change in assets

• change in charitable intent

If you already have an estate plan, I offer a complimentary consultation to review your estate plan with you. We can discuss whether it still works for you - or whether you’d like to make changes to the plan.