Estate planning is the process of creating all the legal documents necessary to ensure your assets and your care are handled according to your wishes when you die or become incapacitated. Typical documents include a Will, Guardianship, Power of Attorney and Health Care Directive but may also include insurance and other financial planning documents as needed. The sobering truth is that if you don’t plan your estate according to your wishes then the state will distribute your estate as it wishes.
Despite this fact, 56% of American adults do not have a Will or other estate planning documents in place, according to 2011 LexisNexis survey. Many Americans believe that they do not need estate planning. They think the process is too complicated, expensive and time consuming. Many prepare online wills, which are not comprehensive and always leave out key provisions. Most do not realize that incomplete or lack of estate planning will cost them and their heirs thousands of dollars and leave them without the care they or their children need.
If you do not have an estate plan, consider this:
- Only 1/3 of your property will go to your spouse, the other 2/3 will go to your children. If your house is in your name alone and you die before your spouse, your home will have to be sold to pay your children their share, leaving your spouse without a home. A properly executed Will avoids this problem.
- If you have children under 18, a court will decide who raises your children and controls their money. This process can be a very time consuming and costly. A Will prepared by an experienced attorney can avoid all of this by naming a Guardian to care for your children and naming a Trustee to manage their money.
- If you are incapacitated, no one can manage your assets and make decisions for you until the Probate Court has declared you incapacitated and appointed a guardian. Appointing a Guardian for you can be a very difficult, expensive and time-consuming process, during which time you are very vulnerable and anyone can take advantage of you. Additionally, important bills may be left unpaid. You also have no input over who has control over you and your care. A Durable Power of Attorney for Property appoints the person you’d like to manage your affairs when you are no longer able.
- When you are incapacitated, your health care decisions are left up to the doctor in consultation with your family. A Healthcare Directive allows a person that you trust make these important decisions. In addition, your family will be comforted to know just how you feel about continuing or dis-continuing life support.
No man knows the day or the hour of his death, or when or if a disabling accident will occur. A properly prepared estate plan insures that others will follow your wishes and protect you from unethical or deceitful relatives and “friends”. In addition, it will minimize taxes and allow you to direct your final medical care. Thus, estate planning greatly reduces the financial and mental stress a sudden death or incapacitating tragedy has on your family. So the choice is yours – pay an experienced estate planning attorney a small fee now and have total control over how your care and assets are handled, or pay another attorney a whole lot more later for limited control.