Tax season has a way of forcing us to sit down with our financial paperwork. While you’re gathering documents for your accountant, it’s also the ideal time to take a hard look at your estate plan.

For families in Naperville, DuPage County, and across Chicagoland, a spring estate plan review can catch outdated documents, missing beneficiary designations, and legal gaps that could create real problems down the road.

The good news? A review doesn’t have to take long. Here are the five most important things to check, and why they matter.

1. Review Your Will or Trust for Life Changes

Life changes fast. A will or trust you created five years ago may no longer reflect your current wishes or family situation.

Common triggers that mean your documents need updating:

• Marriage, divorce, or remarriage
• Birth or adoption of a child or grandchild
• Death of a named beneficiary or executor
• Significant change in assets or financial situation
• Moving to a new state (important if you recently relocated to Illinois)

Illinois law requires very specific formalities for a valid will, including proper witness signatures. If your documents were drafted in another state, an Illinois estate planning attorney should review them to confirm they still hold up.

Even if nothing major has changed, most estate planning attorneys recommend reviewing your documents every three to five years as a general best practice.

2. Check Your Beneficiary Designations

This is one of the most overlooked, and most important parts of any estate plan review.

Beneficiary designations on accounts like life insurance, 401(k)s, IRAs, and bank accounts pass directly to the named person. They completely bypass your will, regardless of what your will says.

That means:

• An ex-spouse listed as beneficiary could still inherit your retirement account
• A child born after you created the account may be left out entirely
• A deceased beneficiary with no contingent named can create serious probate complications

Spring is a natural time to log into your financial accounts and verify who’s listed. This simple step can prevent significant heartache for your family.

Illinois residents should also be aware of recent updates to the Illinois Power of Attorney Act, which affect how third parties, like financial institutions must honor valid POA documents. If you’ve experienced any pushback on a POA recently, your documents may need updating.

3. Confirm Your Powers of Attorney Are Current

Your estate plan isn’t just about what happens after you die. It also needs to address what happens if you’re incapacitated and can’t make decisions for yourself.

Illinois law recognizes two key documents:

• Property Power of Attorney: Authorizes someone to handle your financial and legal affairs
• Healthcare Power of Attorney: Designates someone to make medical decisions on your behalf

Ask yourself: Is the person I named still the right person for this role? Are they still willing and able to serve?

Life changes, relationships shift, people move away, health situations change. An outdated POA can leave your family scrambling during a medical crisis or financial emergency.

Illinois made important updates to the POA Act in 2025 that strengthen protections for agents. If your documents predate those changes, a review with an attorney is strongly recommended.

4. Look at Your Real Estate and Property Titles

How your property is titled matters enormously for estate planning purposes.

In Illinois, property that passes through probate can take months or even years to transfer to your heirs. Proper titling can help your family avoid that process entirely.

Key questions to ask about your property:

• Is your home titled jointly with right of survivorship?
• Have you considered a Transfer on Death Instrument (TODI) to pass real estate directly to heirs outside of probate?
• If you have a trust, has your real estate been properly transferred into the trust?
• Did you recently purchase or inherit property without updating your estate plan?

Real estate transactions are common in spring, which makes this an especially timely check. If you bought or sold property in 2025, your estate plan may need to reflect those changes.

5. Reassess Your Digital Assets and Account Access

Most estate plans drafted even five years ago say almost nothing about digital assets. That’s a growing problem.

Digital assets that need to be addressed include:

• Online banking and investment accounts
• Cryptocurrency wallets and exchange accounts
• Email, social media, and cloud storage accounts
• Small business digital assets (websites, domain names, software licenses)
• PayPal, Venmo, and other payment accounts with stored balances

Illinois allows you to authorize a fiduciary to access your digital assets through a properly drafted estate plan. Without this authorization, your executor may be legally blocked from accessing critical accounts.

Consider creating a secure, updated inventory of your digital assets and login credentials — stored safely and referenced in your estate documents.

Quick Checklist: 5 Spring Estate Plan Checks

• Will / Trust: Updated for life changes in the past 3–5 years?
• Beneficiary Designations: Verified on all financial accounts and insurance policies?
• Powers of Attorney: Still reflect the right people and current law?
• Property Titles: Correctly titled or transferred into trust?
• Digital Assets: Inventoried and authorized in estate documents?

 

​Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I update my estate plan in Illinois?

Most estate planning attorneys recommend a formal review every three to five years — or immediately after any major life event like marriage, divorce, having a child, or a significant change in assets.

Does my will automatically update when I get divorced in Illinois?

Illinois law does revoke bequests to a former spouse after divorce in most cases, but it does not automatically update your entire estate plan. Your executor designation, trust documents, and beneficiary designations on financial accounts all need to be updated separately.

What happens if I don’t update my estate plan?

Outdated estate plans can result in assets going to unintended people, contested wills, prolonged probate, and family conflict. In some cases, Illinois intestacy law (dying without a valid will) will determine how your estate is distributed — which may not reflect your wishes.

Do I need a lawyer to review my estate plan?

While you can do a personal review, an Illinois estate planning attorney can catch legal issues, ensure your documents comply with current Illinois statutes, and identify gaps you may have missed. A review is typically much less expensive than drafting a new plan from scratch.

Schedule Your Spring Estate Plan Review

Your estate plan is one of the most important things you can do for your family. But a plan that’s out of date, or that doesn’t reflect current Illinois law, can cause more problems than no plan at all.

At Long Law Group, we work with families throughout Naperville, DuPage County, and the greater Chicagoland area to review, update, and strengthen estate plans at every stage of life.

Call us at 312-344-3644 or email Contact@JLongLaw.com to schedule a consultation. We’re here to help you protect what matters most.