When to Update Your Estate Plan in Pennsylvania

A Pennsylvania estate plan is not a document — it's a relationship between your documents, your titled assets, and your family situation. When any of those three changes, the plan needs to change with it. Here's the trigger list we use with clients.

Triggers that demand an immediate update

• Marriage, divorce, or remarriage — see estate planning after divorce and blended families
• Birth or adoption of a child — see estate planning for a new baby
• Death of a spouse — see after the death of a spouse
• Death or incapacity of an agent, executor, trustee, or guardian named in your plan
• A diagnosis with long-term care implications (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS) — Medicaid planning windows are time-sensitive
• Sale or purchase of real estate, especially out-of-state
• Significant inheritance or windfall

Triggers that warrant a review within the year

• Move to or from Pennsylvania — different inheritance-tax regime, different probate process, different POA rules
• Sale, purchase, or major change in a closely held business
• Beneficiary's life change (divorce, addiction, lawsuit exposure, special-needs diagnosis)
• A child reaching adulthood — testamentary trusts often have age milestones (25, 30, 35) that should be revisited
• Changes in federal estate-tax law or significant Pennsylvania statutory changes
• Updates to your [POA](/learn/pennsylvania-power-of-attorney-2025) if signed before 2015

The 5-year background review

Even if nothing has changed, every plan should be reviewed at least every 5 years. Common findings:

• Stale beneficiary designations
• Outdated guardianship choices
• Executors or trustees no longer the right fit
• A revocable trust that was never fully funded
• Tax exposure that has changed because the assets grew

What a review actually looks like

• Re-read every document — will, trust, POAs, healthcare directives
• Confirm asset titling matches the plan (the most-skipped step)
• Pull every beneficiary form — see beneficiary vs. will
• Confirm family information is current (addresses, ages, marriages)
• Confirm the named fiduciaries are still willing and able

Why we don't recommend rewriting on every life event

Some changes are amendments, not restatements. A new baby usually warrants a codicil or trust amendment, not a brand-new plan. A move out of state, by contrast, almost always warrants a full restatement. The right answer is fact-specific — but the wrong answer is doing nothing.