Law Changes Considerations for Wills and Estate Planning

Many older wills fail to include some provisions that may be necessary to protect against circumstances not anticipated when the will was signed.  For example, many older wills do not take into account a situation where a beneficiary might be receiving Medicaid disability or nursing home benefits.  Receipt of a bequest could destroy eligibility.  Also, many wills contain outdated tax language, given the change in the tax laws to exempt $5.34 million per person and provide for portability of unused exemptions by spouses.  It might be wise to see if your will (if you have one) needs a tune-up.  If you don’t have a will, you might want to get one.