When Your Stuff or Your People Change, Your Plan Should Too

We hope you’ve enjoyed the holiday season and had opportunity to spend time with loved ones and relax.

As we head into 2026, it's a natural time to take stock: What changed in 2025? For many of you, the answer includes significant life events—new family members, new assets, relocations, or relationship changes. These milestones may be worth celebrating, but they also create estate planning loose ends that most people don't realize need attention. Here's what to flag as you close out the year.

A Quick Note on Ancillary Probate

Before I get to the main topic, I want to mention something I'm seeing more of lately: I've had three different clients retain me in the past week alone for ancillary probate matters. These are situations where someone who lived out of state owned real property in Texas, and their estate now needs a separate probate proceeding here to transfer that Texas property.

If you own property in multiple states—a vacation home, rental property, inherited land, even a timeshare—your estate may need probate proceedings in each state where you own real estate. This isn't a crisis, but it's something to plan for. I'll address this topic more thoroughly in a future newsletter, but it's worth flagging now if you're in this situation.

The Two-Part Test: Your Stuff and Your People

Estate planning boils down to two things: giving your stuff to your people and designating your people to make decisions and handle things for you. If your stuff or your people changed in 2025, your plan may need to change too.

Here's what to review:

1. Opened or Rolled Over Retirement Accounts

You changed jobs and rolled your 401(k) into an IRA, or you opened a new retirement account. Smart financial move. But beneficiary designations don't automatically transfer when you move money between accounts. Default beneficiary forms from financial institutions may not match your estate plan—or worse, you may have forgotten to complete them at all.

Action: Pull out every retirement account statement and verify the beneficiary designations. Make sure they align with your overall estate plan.

2. Acquired Significant New Assets

You bought real estate (house, vacation home, rental property, timeshare), started a business or formed an LLC, inherited property, received a large gift, or bought a titled vehicle (boat, RV, classic car).

Action: For each significant asset you acquired in 2025, know how it would pass under your current plan and confirm that's consistent with your wishes. If you're not sure, ask your attorney. For example, if your estate plan includes a revocable living trust, it’s important to ensure that new property you acquired this year is funded into the trust.

3. Relocated To or From Texas

You moved to Texas for work, retired here, or left Texas for another state. State-specific rules matter. Texas has community property laws, homestead protections, and probate procedures that may differ significantly from the law of your previous home state. A plan created in another state should still be valid, but it may not be optimal for Texas.

Action: Have a Texas attorney review your estate plan if you moved here. Understand how your domicile affects your estate.

4. Your People Changed

You got married, divorced, or remarried. You had a baby or adopted a child. Someone you named in your plan (executor, trustee, guardian, agent) died, became incapacitated, or you're no longer on speaking terms. A beneficiary you named got married, divorced, developed addiction issues, or came into money and no longer needs your help.

Action: If you became a parent in 2025, updating your plan to name guardians is a must. For any other change in your people, review whether your current plan still reflects who you'd want making decisions and receiving your assets.

The Bottom Line

These aren't emergencies, but they're not "someday" tasks either. If any of these scenarios applied to you in 2025, put "estate plan review" on your January calendar. Estate planning isn't one-and-done. It requires maintenance as your life changes.

A good estate plan should strike a balance of fitting your wishes and circumstances when it’s created and including “future-proofing” for possible changes that may come up, so a change in circumstance doesn’t necessarily mean you need to update your plan. But just like even a healthy person benefits from regular check-ups, you’ll get the most benefit from your estate plan if you take the time to review it periodically.

Want to schedule an estate plan checkup? Click here. We offer flat fee estate planning for most matters.

Did Your Stuff or Your People Change in 2025?

☐ Opened or rolled over retirement accounts

☐ Acquired significant new assets (real estate, business, titled vehicles)

☐ Relocated to or from Texas

☐ Had a baby or adopted a child

☐ Got married, divorced, or remarried

☐ Lost touch with or lost someone named in your plan

If you checked any box, schedule a review with us.

Ellen Williamson Law proudly serves Dallas County and the Greater Dallas Metroplex area. We guide our clients through the difficult and complex journeys related to estate planning, probate law, and guardianship. Our goal is to help you navigate the complicated legal process while providing the best possible customer service and reducing confusion.

If you’re ready to have a conversation with a member of our team, contact us today.