2026 is Here: Is Your Estate Plan Ready?
A new year is a chance to tackle new career goals, finally get into that new workout routine, and write the book you’ve been putting off—but it’s also a good time to review your estate plan and make sure it still meets your needs. For Californians, that means making sure that your plan has kept up with your family’s changing needs, new state laws, changes in property values, and community property laws. If your estate plan needs an overhaul or just a few minor tweaks, talking to an estate planning lawyer in California is your next step.
At Moga Law Firm in Upland, we know how a comprehensive estate plan can provide peace of mind. Attorney Scot Thomas Moga has spent more than 25 years counseling clients on their estate plan options, crafting plans for families’ unique needs, and ensuring that estate plans continue to evolve with clients’ changing lives. Call us at 909-931-2444 to set up a consultation with our estate planning law firm now.
Why You Should Revisit Your Estate Plan in 2026
If it’s been years since you last spoke with your estate planning attorney or you don’t have a plan yet, 2026 is a great time to change that. Estate plans are living, breathing documents—they must change with your needs and evolving family, not stay static for the rest of your life. A new baby, divorce, estranged family members, or a massive change in your assets all warrant a review of your estate plan. On top of that, California’s community property laws add additional concerns for blended families. Failing to update your documents could unintentionally result in children being left out of your distribution of assets or beneficiary conflicts that you never expected. Even if you can’t think of any major changes in your life, minor tweaks can keep your estate planning running as intended.
Does Your Current Plan Still Reflect Your Wishes?
Start with the basics—does your estate plan reflect your wishes and life in general? If you have a will and revocable trust, two of the most common estate planning tools, it’s important to review them and ensure they still align with what you want. You may have new family members to account for in your will, family members who have passed away or become estranged who need to be removed from your will, or shifts in family relationships that lead to a change in distribution. Ensuring that your assets are included in your trust can help your family avoid probate, streamlining the process for your loved ones.
You should also revisit your powers of attorney. Ensuring that your healthcare and financial wishes are respected when you are incapacitated can make everything much easier on both you and your family.
Has Your Financial Picture Changed?
If you’ve opened new investment accounts, purchased a vehicle or new home, refinanced a home, or inherited money, your financial status has likely changed significantly enough to warrant a review of your estate plan. Estate planning attorneys regularly help with including new assets in estate plans and reviewing beneficiary designations to ensure that accounts can pass outside of probate to their intended beneficiaries.
You should also review your estate plan if your financial status has changed in the opposite direction. If you have fewer assets to distribute, you may want to change how they are distributed or be more particular about who inherits your life’s work.
Common Mistakes
Too often, mistakes made during estate planning aren’t found until after the creator of the plan passes away and can no longer clarify misunderstandings. Estate planning lawyers often see trusts that were never funded, conflicting beneficiary designations that result in family disputes, DIY estate plans made from online documents that aren’t enforceable in California, missing signatures, and estate plans that do not account for the individual’s incapacity. You don’t want these issues to come up when your loved ones are grieving and struggling to make sense of how to handle your affairs. Addressing them with your lawyer can give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your estate is fully aligned with your needs.
Plan Your Next Steps With Our Estate Planning Law Firm
Start the year off on the right foot with a review of your estate plan. Give us a call at 909-931-2444 or send us a message online to set up a time to talk now.
Scot Thomas Moga, a dedicated attorney in San Bernardino & Riverside Counties who represents clients in the many types of personal injury, workers’ compensation and estate planning cases.
