Top Ten Reasons to do an Estate Plan

We know this is not late night television. However, we also know that people like top ten lists. So, we have come up with our Top Ten Reasons to do an Estate Plan. After all, how many times have you thought to yourself “I’ve got to call my lawyer and get my Will finalized soon?” It seems that procrastination is the primary reason that people fail to get their affairs in order. Nowhere is the old saying “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” more appropriate than in the context of Estate Planning. Without a comprehensive estate plan in place, once you die or become incapacitated in a catastrophic accident, your family will not have any control over how your estate or affairs are administered. So, without further ado, here is our top ten reasons to do an estate plan:

Reason 1: estate planning can save your family tens of thousands of dollars in probate costs and legal fees.

Reason 2: estate planning allows you to determine exactly how and to whom your assets are distributed after your death.

Reason 3: estate planning allows you to designate who will raise your children if both you and your spouse die while your children are under the age of majority.

Reason 4: estate planning allows you to determine the age for your children or grandchildren to receive their inheritance.

Reason 5: estate planning allows you to designate who will manage your assets until such time as your heirs are old enough to receive them outright.

Reason 6: estate planning will prevent conflicts among your family members because all decisions will have been made by you ahead of time leaving nothing left to debate.

Reason 7: estate planning can prevent your child’s ex-spouse from controlling the use of assets you may want to leave to your grandchildren.

Reason 8: estate planning enables the person of your choice to handle health care decision making and financial decision making for you if you are incapacitated.

Reason 9: estate planning can protect your assets from being used to pay off the creditors of your children or other heirs.

Reason 10: estate planning can save your family tens of thousands and even more in Estate Taxes if you have a taxable estate.

The above-listed reasons are just some of the more obvious reasons for getting your affairs in order right away. Once you die, the laws of intestate succession take over and your kids may fight over who should serve as the Estate Administrator and your assets may end up in the hands of someone you did not wish to leave them to. Most people realize that they should have a Will and other advanced care directives in place; however, know you have our top ten reasons to do an estate plan. No one likes to think about their death so they procrastinate about taking the steps to put their plan in place. By failing to plan, your procrastination may unfortunately be a complete disservice to your loved ones.