By now, you hopefully know how important it is to set up an estate plan, no matter your age, occupation or health status.
Having an estate plan in place gives you and your loved ones security and peace of mind. You know that if something happens to you, your estate plan will save your loved ones time, money and stress.
However, recent data show that estate planning appears to be more of a priority for young people vs. the middle-aged.
A survey found that for the first time ever, Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 years are more likely to have a written will than Americans between the ages of 35 and 54 years.
Reasons for the decline
Various reasons were given for the lack of a will or estate planning documents, with the biggest reason being that people just “haven’t gotten around to it.”
Another popular reason was that people believed they did not have enough assets to make creating a will or estate plan worth it.
This is concerning. Middle-aged adults typically have spouses and children, as well as more assets than their younger counterparts. Therefore, an estate plan should be a priority.
If you have not gotten around to creating an estate plan, maybe you do not know where to start.
We are here to help
Talking with an estate planning attorney can help you figure out what type of estate plan is best for your situation.
An estate plan is more than just a will. While you might want to have a will drafted, you could also consider putting your assets into a trust.
Additionally, you may not have thought about who would make medical decisions for you if you were unable to, and what you would want those decisions to be.
A medical power of attorney could help you answer those questions, as could a financial power of attorney for financial decisions.
There are many benefits to an estate plan, and the sooner you start on one, the better.