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When you write a will, or a trust, or any other document where you're naming beneficiaries who will receive any of your assets after death, keep it to yourself. It's your private information and it's nobody's business but yours.

Misfortune can happen at any time, and it's much better to have your wishes stated in an actionable legal form than not to.

I'm accustomed to the challenges of being an estate lawyer. But I'm not accustomed to the challenges of being a client! Rewriting my own will after a long time, I was surprised at some of the issues I encountered.

Part of the job of estate planning is thinking through the different ways the future might work out - who will survive whom, whether a beneficiary will be a minor or an adult at the time she receives the bequest. It’s important to take a range of possibilities into account.

Many websites advising on what to think about when divorcing say you should be sure to change your will once it's all over. That's good advice, but it doesn't go far enough.