There is something about October that makes people want to get their lives in order. Summer is behind us, the weather starts to cool down, and the holidays are suddenly close enough to start thinking about. People clean out closets, organize garages, pack away summer decorations, and begin preparing their homes for the months ahead. Fall is a season of transition, but it is also a season of preparation.
That makes it a good time to take another look at something that probably isn’t getting nearly as much attention as your garage: your estate plan.
This doesn’t mean you need to completely rewrite everything you have in place. In fact, you may discover that your plan is still exactly what you need. But life changes quietly. You may have bought a home, opened new accounts, welcomed a grandchild, gotten divorced, retired, started a business, or simply grown apart from someone you once trusted with an important responsibility. After several years, an estate plan can stop reflecting the life it was originally created to protect.
Think of it like a fall cleanup. You don’t throw everything away just because the season changed. You look at what you have, see what still fits, and make adjustments where they’re needed.
Why Fall Is a Good Time to Review Your Estate Plan
Most people don’t put “review my estate plan” on their October to-do list. Usually, something else reminds them that it’s been a while. They may be organizing financial paperwork, helping a parent get organized, or preparing for the new year and realizing they haven’t looked at their documents in years.
That isn’t unusual. Caring.com’s 2025 Wills & Estate Planning Study found that many Americans still don’t have even a basic estate planning document, with procrastination remaining one of the most common reasons people give for putting it off. For people who already have a plan, the issue can simply be forgetting about it after it has been completed.
An estate plan isn’t necessarily a “set it and forget it” document. Your circumstances can change even when you aren’t paying attention to them. A quick review can help you determine whether the people, assets, and instructions in your plan still make sense.
Here are seven things worth checking this fall.
1. Look at the People You Named
Start with the names.
Who did you choose to handle important responsibilities in your estate plan? Are those still the people you would choose today?
Maybe you created your plan when your children were young, and they’re now adults. Maybe someone you named has moved away, developed health problems, or is no longer someone you would feel comfortable relying on. Someone may have passed away, or your family relationships may have changed significantly since the documents were signed.
These changes don’t automatically mean your estate plan needs to be rewritten. They simply mean it’s worth looking at.
The person who seemed like the obvious choice ten years ago may still be the right person. But you want that to be a decision you are making today, rather than something that remains in your documents because you never thought to revisit it.
2. Check Your Beneficiary Designations
Your will or trust isn’t necessarily the only thing that determines who receives your assets.
Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and certain financial accounts may have their own beneficiary designations. Those designations can remain in place for years without anyone thinking about them, which can create problems when someone’s circumstances change.
For example, someone may have named a spouse on a life insurance policy, later divorced, remarried, and never updated the policy. Someone else may have named a parent years ago who has since passed away.
That’s why a fall review shouldn’t stop with your estate planning documents. Take a look at the accounts and policies where beneficiaries are listed, especially if you’ve experienced a marriage, divorce, birth, death, or other major family change.
Your financial accounts and estate plan should tell the same story.
3. Review What You Own Now
Your estate plan was created based on your life at a particular point in time. Your assets may look very different today.
Perhaps you bought a home. Maybe you sold property, opened investment accounts, started a business, received an inheritance, or accumulated other significant assets. Even smaller changes can add up over several years.
Take some time to make a basic inventory of your major assets and where important information is located. This can include real estate, bank and investment accounts, retirement plans, insurance policies, business interests, and valuable personal property.
You don’t need to turn this into a complicated financial project. The goal is simply to make sure your estate planning attorney and the people who may eventually need to carry out your wishes aren’t working from a picture of your life that is several years old.
4. Remember Your Digital Life
Estate planning has changed because our lives have changed. A significant portion of what matters to us now exists online.
Think about your family photographs, email accounts, cloud storage, social media, online businesses, websites, digital files, cryptocurrency, and other accounts or property you may have accumulated. Some of these things may have financial value. Others may simply have enormous personal value.
The problem is that your family may not know these things exist, let alone where they are located.
That doesn’t mean you should leave a sheet of passwords sitting in a desk drawer. Digital security matters. Instead, consider whether important digital information can be identified and accessed appropriately if someone needs it. A little organization now can save your family from having to piece together your digital life later.
5. Ask What Has Changed Since You Created the Plan
One of the best questions you can ask during an estate planning review is simple:
What is different about my life now?
Think beyond the obvious. Marriage, divorce, births, deaths, and major financial changes are important, but they aren’t the only things that matter.
Did you move to another state? Did you retire? Did your financial situation change significantly? Did you become responsible for helping an aging parent? Did a relationship change with someone you previously trusted with an important role?
Even your priorities may have changed. The plan you created in your thirties may have made perfect sense then and still be legally valid today, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it reflects what matters most to you now.
Your estate plan should keep up with your life.
6. Get the Important Information Organized
An estate plan is easier for your family to use when the information surrounding it isn’t scattered everywhere.
Fall is a good time to make sure you know where your important legal documents are. Think about whether the people who may eventually need them would know where to find them. Consider organizing information about major financial accounts, insurance policies, property, and other important records.
This doesn’t have to become an enormous binder containing every detail of your life. The goal is simply to create some order.
If something happened unexpectedly, would the people you trust know where to begin? If the answer is no, that’s a good place to start.
7. Don’t Assume Everything Is Fine Without Looking
Sometimes the biggest reason people don’t review their estate plan is because nothing feels urgent.
Maybe you haven’t experienced a major life change. Maybe your family looks the same and your finances haven’t changed dramatically. That’s good. But a review doesn’t have to uncover a problem to be worthwhile.
You may open your documents and discover that everything still reflects your wishes. That gives you confidence. You may also discover a name, beneficiary, asset, or instruction that needs attention.
Either outcome is useful.
The point of a review isn’t to change something simply because it’s October. It’s to make sure you aren’t relying on an old plan simply because you haven’t looked at it in years.
A Simple Fall Estate Planning Checklist
Before the holidays arrive, take a few minutes to ask yourself:
- Are the people named in my estate plan still the people I would choose?
- Are my beneficiary designations current?
- Have I bought, sold, or acquired any major assets?
- Has anything significant changed in my family?
- Have I moved or experienced a major financial change?
- Have I considered my important digital accounts and property?
- Do I know where my important estate planning documents are?
- Is there anything about my plan that I no longer understand?
You may find that nothing needs to change. That’s okay. A review can be valuable simply because it confirms that your plan still fits.
A New Season Is a Good Time for a Fresh Look
Fall reminds us that things don’t stay exactly the same. The leaves change, the days get shorter, and we naturally begin preparing for what’s next.
Our lives work the same way.
The family you had when you created your estate plan may have grown. Your finances may have changed. The people you trust may be different. The things you own, including the things that exist online, may have expanded considerably.
That doesn’t mean the plan you created before was wrong. It means it was created for an earlier chapter.
An estate plan should reflect the life it is meant to protect. So while you’re cleaning out the garage, organizing your home, or preparing for the holidays, take a few minutes to give your estate plan a fall checkup, too. You may discover that everything is still in order. Or you may find one small detail that deserves another look.
Either way, you’ll know.
Give Your Estate Plan a Fall Checkup
If it’s been several years since you reviewed your estate plan, this fall is a good opportunity to take another look.
At Shoup Legal, we help California families create and review estate plans based on their family circumstances, assets, goals, and wishes. A review can help you identify changes that may need attention and give you a clearer understanding of what you currently have in place.
We also offer free educational estate planning workshops where you can learn more about trusts, wills, beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and other important planning topics in a straightforward, approachable setting.
Register for an upcoming workshop for free at Estateplanningworkshop.org.
You don’t have to overhaul your entire estate plan this fall. Sometimes, the most useful thing you can do is simply open the drawer, take another look, and make sure the plan you have still fits the life you’re living.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I review my estate plan?
There isn’t one schedule that works for everyone, but reviewing your plan periodically is a good practice. Major events such as marriage, divorce, births, deaths, retirement, moving, or significant financial changes are especially good reasons to review it.
Do I need to update my estate plan every year?
Not necessarily. An annual review can be helpful, but you don’t need to make changes simply because another year has passed. The important question is whether your plan still reflects your current circumstances and wishes.
Why should I review my beneficiary designations?
Certain accounts and policies may pass directly to the people listed as beneficiaries. Those designations can operate separately from your will or trust, so outdated information can potentially create an outcome you didn’t intend.
Should digital assets be part of my estate planning review?
Yes. Digital photographs, online accounts, websites, cryptocurrency, cloud storage, and other digital property may all be worth considering. You should also think about whether important information can be identified and located if it is ever needed.
What if nothing major has changed in my life?
A review can still be worthwhile. You may discover that everything is still in order, which can provide peace of mind. You may also notice something you hadn’t considered before.
What should I do first?
Start by finding your existing estate planning documents and thinking about what has changed since they were created. Review the people you’ve named, your beneficiaries, your major assets, and your important information. If you’re unsure whether your plan still reflects your wishes, consider speaking with an experienced estate planning attorney.