As a business owner in Michigan, you no doubt understand the importance of having estate planning documents in place to ensure that probate and taxes do not diminish your hard work. Our legal team at the Bingham Legal Group often works with entrepreneurs to ensure that their assets are protected.

While individuals often go several years without updating end-of-life documents, Forbes magazine notes that entrepreneurs should revisit their estate plans more frequently. The following four reasons may make your estate plan less successful.

1. Business worth

The current state of your company may be radically different from its size and value a year or more ago. This may make your old plan impractical or even completely unworkable. 

2. Personal wealth

In addition to business growth, you have probably experienced a rise in personal net worth, which should be addressed in your estate plan. Nearly 65 percent of successful entrepreneurs in one survey reported that their wealth had increased in the time since they created or updated their estate plans.

3. Tax law

Data from the survey indicates that approximately 85 percent of entrepreneurs have an estate plan that does not take current tax law into account. This can happen to you quickly because both state and federal laws change so often, even three or four years could make a big difference. 

4. Life changes

A lot can happen in your personal life in a year. Births, deaths and marriages are major factors that you should address in your estate plan as soon as they happen.

More information about keeping your estate plan current is available on our webpage.