Vanilla

Aug 25, 2026

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The 7 Life Events That Should Trigger an Estate Plan Review

Most estate plans never get a second look after they’re signed. An annual review is the goal many advisors aim for but in practice, plans get signed, filed away, and forgotten.

Without regular oversight, plans can become outdated with costly consequences; for example, a will written before a divorce will likely still name the ex-spouse as a beneficiary. A trust drafted before a business sale won’t account for recent liquidity.

An annual review cycle will catch these disparities eventually, but estate plans are dynamic documents that evolve with your clients’ lives. In particular, the following seven events should trigger a closer look at the plan, regardless of how recently the last annual review occurred.

1. Marriage or remarriage

A new marriage almost always requires updates to beneficiary designations, healthcare directives, and often the will itself. Remarriage adds another layer, especially when children from a previous relationship are involved. Without a review, a new spouse might be left out of key decisions, or an ex-spouse might still be named somewhere in the plan.

2. Divorce

Divorce is one of the most urgent estate plan review triggers on this list. Many states don’t automatically remove an ex-spouse from a will or beneficiary designation once a divorce is finalized. Advisors who flag this immediately, rather than waiting for the client to raise the issue, help protect clients from unintentionally passing assets to former spouses.

3. Birth or adoption of a child

A new child changes who needs to be protected and who needs to make decisions if something happens to the parents. Guardian designations, trust structures for minors, and life insurance coverage all deserve a fresh look. Clients with growing families often don’t realize their existing plan doesn’t name a guardian at all, or still names one from before the family grew.

4. A business sale or other liquidity event

A liquidity event changes a client’s entire financial picture almost overnight. An estate plan built around illiquid business ownership doesn’t necessarily fit the financial picture of a client who now holds significant cash or investable assets. At the same time, tax planning strategies also become far more important, since the estate’s taxable value may have shifted substantially.

5. A significant inheritance

When a client receives an inheritance, their existing plan may not reflect their new asset base or their wishes for where the money should eventually go. Larger inheritances can also introduce estate tax exposure a client didn’t have before, which makes this a natural moment to revisit the plan’s structure.

6. Relocation to a new state

Estate planning law varies by state, and a plan drafted under one state’s rules doesn’t always transfer cleanly to another. Community property states, in particular, treat marital assets differently than common law states. Relocation can also change a client’s tax picture entirely. Twelve states plus D.C. impose their own estate tax, with exemptions ranging from $1 million to $15 million, and a client can owe non-resident estate tax on property left behind in their old state even after moving. Income tax residency rules shift too. A client who thinks they’ve established residency in a no-tax state can still get taxed as a resident of their old state if they don’t meet that state’s specific requirements. Clients who relocate should have their plan reviewed by an estate attorney familiar with the new state’s requirements..

7. Death of a beneficiary

When a named beneficiary, executor, trustee, or guardian passes away, their death creates a gap in the plan that needs to be filled. It can be easy to miss this trigger without the client flagging the death.

How to proactively catch estate plan review triggers before clients do

Traditionally, all seven triggers have relied on the client remembering to tell their advisor about a pertinent life event. Most clients don’t think to call their advisor the week they get engaged, and they’re certainly not thinking about their estate plan in the middle of a divorce or a business sale. By the time it comes up naturally, months or even years could have passed, along with missed opportunities to optimize the financial plan.

Vanilla’s Estate Plan Audit Checklist offers a standard set of questions to work through. Advisors can build these questions into every regular client conversation, not just the annual review. A quick question about whether anything has changed in a client’s family, business, or residency can surface one of these seven triggers well before it becomes a problem, and the answers often reveal that part of the plan needs an update.

If your team hasn’t yet standardized what a full review includes, our Complete Estate Plan Review Workflow for Financial Advisors lays out the process end to end.

Build an estate plan review cadence around real events

An annual estate plan check-in still makes sense for catching smaller changes that may not fit into one of the seven categories listed above. But as part of a comprehensive financial planning offering, a proactive approach increases the value you bring to your clients while helping to ensure their full plan remains up to date and aligned with their goals. 

Treat these seven life events as standing triggers for every client you serve. Marriage, divorce, a new child, a business sale, an inheritance, a move to a new state, or the death of a beneficiary represents a clear, specific reason to take another look at the estate plan, no matter when the last review occurred.

Want your team to catch these moments before clients have to bring them up? See how Vanilla helps advisors stay ahead of the life events that matter. Book a demo.

The information provided here does not constitute legal, financial, or tax advice. It is provided for general informational purposes only. This information may not be updated or reflect changes in law. Please consult with an estate attorney, financial advisor, or tax professional who can advise as to your particular situation.