Will Updates Can Require Care

							                                     Will Updates Can Require Care

It isn't uncommon for a new client to walk into an estate planning attorney's office and ask if the
attorney can make a quick update to a Will. While updating a Will is possible and is generally not
difficult, there are often complicating factors which will require you to take more time and to think
carefully about how your updates will affect your estate plan. Here are a pair of issues you want to
think about if you are intent on updating or changing your Will.

Do You Have A Trust?
If you created your will in conjunction with a revocable living trust, changing the terms of your will
may not be as important as changing the terms of the trust. Because revocable living trusts are
primarily designed to assist in avoiding probate, the will may be far less important than the terms
you've included in the trust. If, for example, you want to change who becomes a trust beneficiary after
you die, you will need to do that by modifying the trust and not the Will.

How Major Are The Changes?
For some will changes you don't need to do a lot other than create a codicil, a fancy term for an
amendment, to a Will. For example, if you want to change who serves as the trustee of a testamentary
trust, all you typically have to do is write a codicil and include it with the will. Codicils must be created
to meet the same standards the law requires of wills. Because of this, it's important to consult with
your estate planning lawyer before you attempt to make any modification with a codicil.

Experienced estate planning attorneys Seattle WA of the Byrd Garrett PLLC offers estate planning and
business planning resources to residents of Seattle WA. To learn more about these free resources,
please visit http://www.byrdgarrett.com today.