There are many different reasons that you might wish to amend your estate planning documents and this can include various different aspects, such as new beneficiaries, changes to your trust or changes to your will. In order for these updates to be effective they must be done properly. 

Otherwise, this can lead to not just disappointment for you and your potential heirs, but even litigation down the road. Changing your will, for example, must be done through a specific process, such as executing a new will that formally revokes the old will or formally destroying the previous will.

Evidence of previous wills can increase the chances that your case will end up in front of a probate court for litigation over contests related to the will.

Updating your death beneficiary designation forms, however, requires an entirely different process. Even if you have already updated your will to ensure that this process accurately reflects what you intend to accomplish with your estate planning, updates to your will do not automatically reflect onto your death beneficiary forms.

You will need to contact your life insurance company or your retirement brokerage company, for example, to update the forms formally in their system and you will also want to receive confirmation that those updates have been made.

Amending your estate planning forms is important anytime that you have a major change in your life, such as a divorce or a remarriage. Failing to update these forms means that the associated companies are legally responsible to follow through on those most recently filed with your information.