When do I need to change my will?
Make sure your will reflects your current wishes and situation. Common changes that may cause you to want to make a new will include marriage (especially if your new marriage includes step-children); divorce; becoming a parent (including through adoption); you move to a different state (especially if one of the states is a community property state); or you acquire substantial assets (this can occur through inheriting property from a relative).
You may also need to change your will if people you named as executors or guardians are no longer able to act in those capacities, or if a named beneficiary has died.
Don't forget that much of your property may pass to beneficiaries outside the terms of your will. This can typically include IRAs, joint bank accounts, life insurance proceeds, and other assets where you have named beneficiaries to take the property if you die.
Your will has no effect on them, so if you change your mind about who you want to inherit these types of property, you'll need to change the documents on which you named the beneficiaries.
It's a good idea to review your will every few years to see that it reflects your current wishes.
The Legal Office can help you determine whether you may need to make a new will. Contact us at 229-7018, or stop by Bldg 3650, Room 240 to changing an existing will or to prepare your first will. We can also prepare health care powers of attorney and living wills (look for an article about what these can do for you in an upcoming issue of the GATEWAY paper).
We're available on drill weekend. PHOTO: Members of the 932nd Airlift Wing's honor guard prepare the American flag for a ceremony. Photo/TSgt. Gerald Sonnenberg