Posted On: October 31st 2016
The idea of of beginning the process of estate planning may be unsettling. This may deter you from starting to plan it at all. However, if you consider the alternatives, you may want to start the process sooner rather than later.
li-lawyers
Everyone has an estate. Every asset you own, your car, your checking account, and all of your personal possessions comprise your estate. All of these things have somewhere to go after you die, and it is important for you to decide where. If you don’t have an estate plan in place at the time of your death, all of your assets will be turned over to the courts and distributed evenly among your relatives according to your state’s probate laws. You have the choice to control how these matters will be handled. It is probable that you’d rather your family, and not the courts, take care of this for you.
No. If you own anything at all, or have any money saved, you are in the proper age range to start planning your estate. Many people tend to think that this process is meant for the ill or elderly, but it is important to know that other factors besides untimely death come into play. We never know when a serious medical or financial situation can arise, so planning ahead is wise to say the least. Preparing a living will and financial power of attorney enables you to control who can make important decisions, (and what those decisions are), for you if you become unable to do so yourself.
No one likes to think about the “end of the road”. But, like it or not, death is inevitable and accidents happen. Many families are not prepared for such events, so when they do occur, they’ll have to deal with much more than they may be able to handle. Having some control set in place for you, just in case, will allow people you love to deal with it much more effectively. Estate planning is also rather flexible; you can change things down the line so no decision is set in stone.
Preparing these instructions ahead of time, hopefully incredibly early, will provide you and your loved ones a sense of serenity. Knowing that your assets and medical instructions are properly planned is truly a considerate way to protect the time and feelings of the people that matter the most to you.