Don't Have an Estate Plan? You're Not Alone!

I just did an initial meeting with a nice young couple that is expecting their first child. Is there a better time to make sure your affairs are in order? Interestingly, I meet with a lot of couples that have kids in school who have never made the time to make official their desires who will take care of their kids and how if something happens to the parents.

Don't get me wrong. I don't have kids, but I have many friends and family members who do, so I understand how busy life gets when you are juggling everything else you do while at the same time raising a family. But hey, that's why you pay someone like me to take that task on!

Lawyers.com, a site owned and run by LexisNexis did a really interesting survey that showed that nearly 60% of Americans don't even have a simple will. While I am certain that some of this is due to the cost involved, the survey seems to confirm what I already suspected: a lot of people don't have estate plans because they think they don't need them, or they plain don't want to talk about death!

There's not much I can do about the latter, but let me say that most anyone can really benefit from an estate plan. I have done a fair amount of pro-bono work for the very elderly. Consistently I have found that as they approach the end of their lives, those who have very little to give to their beneficiaries are as equally concerned about where their property goes as those that have large estates. After all, who wouldn't want to be certain that their old car went to their niece, or that particular family photograph goes to their cousin?

I really believe that there is no estate too small to benefit from an estate plan. About the only time I would ever advise someone to consider skipping the estate planning process is if their goals are identical to their state's laws of intestacy (the laws that control where your property goes when you die without a will). Even in that circumstance, an estate plan will provide certainty and clarity that cannot exist without one.

The word legacy gets tossed around a lot in the realm of estate planning. I think that leaving a legacy for your kids, grandkids, partner, friends, or a charity are all very noble. In the end, however, I believe that the absolute most-important legacy you leave through an estate plan is the legacy of clarity for those you have left behind. This clarity will provide them certain answers at a time when they feel very uncertain. This is a gift that is invaluable, and not even remotely contingent upon the value of your estate.