In a recent WSJ article, “Haven’t Updated Your Estate Plan in a While?”, the author Cheryl Munk reminds readers that estate planning is not a one time action and that the failure to periodically update your planning can have disastrous consequences. Financial adviser Bijan Golkar begged his father to update his estate plan after his father divorced and purchased sizable business and real-estate holdings. But despite his cajoling, his father wouldn’t take action. When the dad died three years ago at age 59, he left behind a seven-figure estate, a 15-year-old estate plan and a huge mess for his three sons to clean up. This is one of the stories covered in the article reminding us to update our planning when we have major life changes or when major law changes may affect us. Both of these issues arise at the beginning of 2018 with the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
