An estate plan is not a one-time deliverable. Life, law, and assets all change, and an out-of-date plan can be worse than none. A defined review cadence — periodic plus event-driven — keeps plans effective and deepens the client relationship.

Family: marriage, divorce, birth/adoption, death of a spouse/beneficiary/fiduciary, a beneficiary's disability or creditor/marital trouble.
Financial: significant increase or decrease in wealth, business sale or formation, receipt of an inheritance, new real property (especially in another state).
Geographic: moving to another state (marital-property regime, elective share, execution validity, and state death tax all change).
Legal: changes in the federal exemption, state death-tax law, SECURE/retirement rules, or other statutory shifts.

Set a periodic review (every 3-5 years) even absent events, and a lighter annual touchpoint for taxable estates.
Re-audit funding and beneficiary designations at every review — this is where plans silently break.
Stress-test legacy formula clauses against the current exemption; confirm fiduciary nominees are still willing and able.
Reconfirm capacity and intent, and update documents to current statutory forms and best practices (e.g., digital-asset authority, updated POAs institutions will accept).

Practice tip

The 2026 exemption change and the SECURE final regulations are reasons to proactively review existing plans — especially old A-B formula wills and trusts naming beneficiaries of retirement accounts.

Key takeaways

Review on a set cadence (every 3-5 years) and on every major life, financial, geographic, or legal change.
Re-audit funding and beneficiary designations each time — the most common silent failure point.
Recent law changes (2026 exemption, SECURE final regs) warrant proactive review of legacy plans.