You can avoid problems where EPIC is concerned by updating your estate plan whenever there are major life changes such as marriage, divorce, remarriage, or the birth of a child. EPIC introduces modern portfolio management theory to fiduciary investment. Now, fiduciaries will be able to select investment instruments with a view to the total return of the portfolio, rather than individual investments. Fiduciaries will also be able to delegate investment and portfolio management functions. All of which means, if you have a specific investment philosophy or assets that are important to you, your trust document should address these issues.
Rules regarding the execution of wills also change.
Wills that are not self-proving will still be valid, regardless of when they were signed. Neither a divorced spouse, nor certain relatives of a divorced spouse, can act as a fiduciary under a will or trust. This is an improvement over current law, but reliance on EPIC is not a substitute for proper planning. In an earlier Hot Points, we wrote about the problem of establishing a trust for pets. EPIC allows you to establish a trust for your designated domestic pet or pet animal.