Outdated estate plans are plans struggle to remain current because these estate plans lack a formal review process to keep them relevant over time.  When revocable living trusts became more widely available as popular estate planning tools, most clients thought that their estate planning process was complete when the trust documents were first drafted and signed.  Frankly, many attorneys thought the same thing.  The majority of estate plans were drafted without expectations that the trust plans should be formally maintained.  Then, trust documents were thought of as "magic" documents in that they would instinctively address or accommodate any circumstance that might come to pass during the clients' lifetimes and readily achieve their planning goals without any service, updates, or maintenance.  In reality, that impression sadly turned out not to be true.

 

In retrospect, it now seems fairly obvious.  Over time, trusts become outdated and struggle to keep client planning current.  Many trust plans fall apart through lack of attention and routine updating.  Inevitable changes in the law and tax code, not to mention the client's family and financial circumstances erode the plan's effectiveness.  Unfortunately, outdated and unfunded trusts are far too prevalent and often not worth the paper they are written on, despite the fact that clients believe that their affairs are taken care of.  It's now clear that successful estate planning requires much more than signed trust documents.  Many clients and estate planning attorneys alike recognize that estate planning is not a single event — it's a lifetime planning process.

Most clients conscientious enough to plan their estate with a living trust are also concerned with the risks of undermining their plan through lack of attention and proper updating.  Because they want their planning to be ready when needed, they embrace a planning paradigm that provides reasonable plan updating and maintenance.  Full service estate plans offer a modern planning model to resolve the problems of outdated and ineffective trust plans.