An estate plan is a snapshot of your life at the moment you signed it. Life in Brooklyn rarely stands still, and major milestones can quietly break a plan that once worked. Marriage, divorce, and a new child each change who should inherit and who should be in charge. Use this checklist to keep your documents current after the big ones.
After You Get Married
Marriage does not automatically rewrite your will, but New York gives a surviving spouse a “right of election” to claim roughly one-third of the estate even if the will says otherwise. To reflect your real intentions rather than rely on defaults, update your will under EPTL 3-2.1 to name your spouse. Just as important, revise beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance, which override your will, and update your health care proxy and power of attorney if you want your spouse to serve.
After a Divorce
New York law automatically revokes provisions in your will that favor a former spouse once a divorce is final, and it treats your ex as having predeceased you for most purposes. That sounds tidy, but it leaves gaps. If your ex was your executor or sole beneficiary, who steps in? You should affirmatively redo your will, your power of attorney under GOL 5-1513, and your health care proxy under Public Health Law Article 29-C. Critically, retirement account and life insurance beneficiary designations are not always automatically revoked, so re-file every one of them.
After a New Child Arrives
- Name a guardian. This is the single most important step. In your will, designate who would raise your child if both parents are gone, sparing a Kings County Surrogate’s Court judge from choosing among relatives.
- Set up a trust for the child. A minor cannot inherit outright. A trust under EPTL Article 7 lets a trustee manage funds until your child is mature, and you set the ages for distributions.
- Add the child as a contingent beneficiary where appropriate, and revisit life insurance to make sure coverage matches your new responsibilities.
Other Triggers Worth a Review
Buying a brownstone, a significant change in net worth, the death of an executor or guardian you named, or a move into or out of New York should each prompt a review. Approaching the 2026 New York estate tax exclusion of $7,350,000, with its cliff at $7,717,500, is its own reason to revisit planning.
Build a Review Habit
Even without a milestone, read through your plan every few years. Confirm the people you named are still the right choices and still willing to serve, and make sure every beneficiary form matches your will.
A Note Before You Proceed
How New York treats your documents after a life change is not always intuitive, and small oversights on beneficiary forms cause real problems. This is general information, not legal advice. Have a qualified New York estate planning attorney review your plan after any major milestone.
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