For Simplicity’s Sake: View Your Estate Plan with the Future in Mind

Hoopes Adams & Scharber PLC • October 10, 2025

Attention to five important issues now can ease your heirs’ emotional and legal burdens later.

After investing the time, money, and mental energy that go into creating an estate plan, for many people there’s a temptation to view their will or trust as a one-and-done proposition: “Okay, we have our estate plan; we can check that off our list and move on.”


That’s a mistake. The passage of time, changes in circumstances and priorities, and other factors can quickly erode an estate plan’s value. It’s a sign of wisdom to review your plan on a scheduled basis, with an eye toward (a) keeping things up to date and (b) considering how your plan will affect and be interpreted by your loved ones and other heirs.


Last year, the Wall Street Journal published a useful article, “5 Things to Do Now to Make Your Estate Simpler for Your Heirs” (November 14, 2024), that you might consider making required annual reading. The article focuses on five smart tips:


  • keep documents updated;
  • address digital assets;
  • assign personal property in advance;
  • leave good notes; and
  • strive for conflict-avoidance.


Below we restate those tips, summarize the WSJ article’s comments, and provide links to our related articles from the Family Wealth Mattersarchives, to provide additional detail and, in some cases, Arizona-specific information.


1. Keep documents updated.  “Having a will or living trust is essential – but it isn’t enough. … The proper documents need to be updated periodically, especially as life circumstances change.” These articles on our website go a little deeper:



“Many people also fail to update beneficiaries for life insurance, retirement accounts and bank or investment accounts. These assets pass according to the beneficiary designation, if there is one, regardless of what the will or living trust says.”



2. Address digital assets.  “Many people have digital assets, including email and online photos, that could be lost to heirs if proper provisions aren’t put in place.”



“Cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens can also easily be lost if their owners don’t provide heirs a way to access these assets.”



3. Assign personal property in advance.  “Many people assume that heirs will figure out on their own how to divide personal property, but that can lead to fights. A personal-property list … can be handwritten and [kept] up-to-date, and should be kept with estate-plan documents. The document should also include where items can be found.”



4. Leave good notes.  “[Set] aside a folder with important information for the heirs, such as names, numbers and locations of accounts, as well as names and contact information for attorneys, accountants and financial advisers. Also let heirs know where to find your estate-planning documents.”



5. Strive for conflict-avoidance.  “Parents sometimes create conflict by choosing one child over another to serve as executor, trustee or both. … Sometimes it may be appropriate. [But consider) naming a relative or friend to avoid potential sibling-rivalry issues [or] hiring a trust company or a private professional fiduciary.”



“People who have specific reasons for dividing assets or roles unevenly should prepare a letter that explains their thought process. If you want to make things easy for your kids, if there’s anything that could be misinterpreted, explain it to them so they’re not fighting about it.”



Conclusion. If even a surface review of your estate plan reveals the possible need for an update, we can help you sort through your options and implement the changes that meet your needs and will make life easier for your heirs – at an emotionally charged time when “easier” will be especially valued.