Should I Have An Estate Plan?

January 22, 2024 Katelin Moomau, Esq.

I often get asked: “Should I have an estate plan?” Probably so! Did you know that only 33% of Americans have estate planning documents? A lot of people make estate planning a New Year's resolution, but honestly, tackling it at any time can be as simple as making an appointment to start the process.

Basic estate planning documents can really simplify things for your loved ones in a few ways:

It Lays Out the Decision Makers. Not everyone is cut out for every job, and having estate planning documents lays out who gets to make what decisions. Who can keep a level head if you need medical decisions made? Who is responsible enough to handle finance decisions? Who should dictate how things like personal property get divided? Who should make funeral arrangements? Laying out the decision maker also helps empower that person to get things done more quickly and efficiently and quells the questions of who should get to make that decision if there is a contest or hard feelings between family members.

It Puts Major Care Decisions in Writing. Sometimes the things we want to happen or not happen to us are not something that is intuitive, or easy to make in the moment when someone is emotional, or is not the decision they may want to make or it puts a huge burden on them to make that decision against others wishes. If you have specific wishes for your care, having documentation of this is a great tool so that your loved ones make the decisions that you want for yourself, and relieves responsibility, especially if what you want is something like end of life measures.

It Creates a Smoother Legal Process. Estate planning documents can often be used to create a smoother legal process should something happen to you. An estate planning attorney will talk to you about options and what you want to have happen and how to make this process as efficient as possible. You might be able to avoid probate, or expedite the process with a small estate affidavit, or statement in lieu, as well as, create a smoother legal process for other potential issues.

It Gets Your Property to the People You Want, In the Way you Want. Whether it be your family, friends, a nonprofit, or all of the above, estate planning gets your property where you want it to go. And it can be structured in such a way that it meets your family needs, especially if you have a blended family, young children, or very little close family. A good estate planning attorney will make you double check all your beneficiary designations, go over how you want assets divided and to whom, and give you peace of mind the rights things are going to the people you want, in the way that will benefit them most, and minimize expenses to them.

If you have questions about Estate Planning, the Family First Law Group is happy to help you form a plan, revise an old plan, or just review your plan.