An estate plan is not a time capsule. People marry and divorce, move states, switch banks, change beneficiaries, start businesses, and welcome grandchildren. An update to your will and trust keeps the legal script aligned with real life. This article explains when a codicil or trust amendment is enough, when a complete restatement is cleaner, how cross‑state moves affect execution and funding, how to run a funding audit, and the small updates (digital assets, agents, and certificates) that pay off in a crisis.

The five events that demand an immediate update

Marriage or divorce. Spouses become default beneficiaries in some contexts; ex‑spouses sometimes remain on beneficiary designations by accident. After either event, refresh your will, trust, and forms the same week.
Births and deaths. Add new beneficiaries; adjust per stirpes provisions; add or remove guardians or fiduciaries.
Moves across state lines. Your documents likely remain valid, but execution formalities and self‑proving language differ; refreshing to the new state’s style reduces friction with clerks and banks.
Major asset changes. Buying or selling a home, significant brokerage shifts, or a business acquisition means funding changes; record deeds, retitle accounts, and update your trust’s schedule of property.
Health changes or fiduciary availability. If your executor, successor trustee, or agents move away or are unwell, name new ones before a crisis exposes the gap.

Amendment, codicil, or full restatement?

A codicil updates a will; a trust amendment updates a trust. Use them for small changes: swapping an executor, refining a bequest, changing a distribution percentage. When changes accumulate or structure needs a rethink—adding sub‑trusts for minors, supporting a blended family plan, installing modern digital‑asset powers—a restatement of your trust is cleaner. A restated trust keeps the original date and name (so account titles don’t need to change) but replaces the body with the updated text. It avoids a patchwork of amendments that confuse future fiduciaries.

Execution refresh: witnesses, notaries, and self‑proving

If your will lacks a self‑proving affidavit recognized in your new state, add it; courts accept self‑proved wills without calling witnesses years later. Trusts generally don’t require witnesses, but notarization helps with bank acceptance, and some states expect it for real‑estate transactions involving the trust. When you restate or amend, sign with the strictest formality you’re likely to encounter—two disinterested witnesses plus notary—and keep originals accessible.

Funding audit: the once‑a‑year habit that saves months later

A plan fails in practice when the trust isn’t funded. Once a year, run a 45‑minute audit:

• Real property: Is the deed to trust recorded for each property? If you moved, did you update homestead and insurance to reflect trust ownership?

• Brokerage accounts (non‑retirement): Are they titled to the trust? Are statements addressed to “Trustee”?

• Bank accounts: Daily‑use may remain in your name with POD to the trust; long‑term or larger balances often belong in trust for incapacity continuity.

• Retirement accounts & life insurance: Ownership stays in your name; beneficiary designations get the update (spouse, then children per stirpes, or your trust where a minors’/special‑needs trust is needed).

• Business interests: Is the assignment of membership interest or stock transfer to the trust complete? Do your LLC/Shareholder agreements recognize the trust and successor trustee?

Document findings on one page and fix gaps immediately.

Digital assets, again—but newer

If your plan predates cloud photo libraries, password managers, or crypto, add digital‑assets clauses to your will and trust, plus a broad HIPAA provision for medical portals. Maintain a password manager with emergency access and put device unlock codes in a sealed envelope with your binder. Your executor and trustee need access to email to unwind subscriptions and accounts; your agent needs portal access during illness.

Agent roles: the right people, not the right birth order

Over time, the right executor, trustee, and agents may change. You can keep peace and improve performance by naming the competent child as fiduciary while preserving equal inheritance. If you do that, add accountability: require annual statements to all beneficiaries or name a neutral “trust protector” who can request records and replace a trustee for cause. Avoid naming co‑agents who must act jointly unless you have a clear reason; stalemates are common, especially under stress.

Moving states: what really needs changing

If you move from, say, Illinois to Arizona, your trust still works; your will is still valid if properly executed. But refresh to local format: new pour‑over will with self‑proving pages, new medical power of attorney and living will in local language (clinicians recognize familiar forms), and a durable financial power of attorney that reflects local statute language and notary/witness standards. Re‑record property deeds; update titling at the bank; file any local homestead or property‑tax forms. Familiar formatting reduces front‑desk resistance when your fiduciary shows up.

Converting an old will‑only plan to a trust‑based plan

If your plan relies solely on a will, this is the perfect moment to add a revocable living trust and fund it. Your new pour‑over will then sweeps leftovers into the trust. Families experience faster, private administration; your successor trustee can act during incapacity without hunting for court orders. Use the update window to build a children’s trust, special‑needs sub‑trust, or QTIP‑style blended‑family plan if those facts exist.

What to keep, where to keep it, and what to toss

Keep originals of your will, trust, powers of attorney, living will, HIPAA release, and any buy‑sell or property agreements at home, not in a sealed bank box. Store copies of deeds and beneficiary confirmations. Toss superseded drafts to prevent confusion; label the binder spine with the month and year of the latest update. Tell your fiduciaries where the binder is; send PDFs to agents and trustees so they can act on day one.

A maintenance calendar that works

Put three recurring reminders on your phone: (1) January—beneficiary/designation review and funding audit; (2) birthdays—confirm fiduciary choices still fit; (3) open enrollment—sync employer benefits and beneficiaries with your plan. If nothing changed, you spent fifteen minutes to buy a year of certainty. If something did, you caught it before it became expensive.

Modernize your plan and move to a trust‑based structure: Online Revocable Living Trust → /product/online-living-trust/

Refresh your will in minutes: Online Last Will & Testament → /product/online-last-will/

Need funding checklists and form letters for banks? Living Trust Kit → /product/living-trust-kit/