If you are young and healthy, chances are that you haven’t started to think about estate planning yet–after all, why worry about your eventual passing when it’s obviously so far off? However, the unfortunate reality is that no one can ever know what the future holds, and there’s a chance that you could pass away suddenly or become incapacitated, in which case the lack of an estate plan could make things extremely difficult for your loved ones. Because of this, our team at TriCity Lawyers holds that it’s never too early to start the estate planning process, and in this article, we’ll elaborate on the main reasons why.
- It Allows You to Protect Your Children- If you have children, you should definitely start estate planning as soon as possible. One key part of making a will or other plan is naming who should act as your children’s guardian in the event that you are no longer able to care for them–and while that possibility is not pleasant to think about, if you don’t take the opportunity to make your wishes known, then the courts will decide this for you.
- It Gives You Control- Another reason to begin estate planning as soon as possible is because it allows you more control over where your assets go should you pass away or become incapacitated. If you pass away without a will, then the courts will decide who gets your money and property, which can be a problem if, say, you have an estranged family member who you wouldn’t want to give money to, or you aren’t married to your partner but want to provide for them.
- It Saves Your Loved Ones Time and Money- A third reason why we encourage everyone to make an estate plan is because it will save their beneficiaries time and money. Our estate planning professionals can help you avoid the lengthy probate process, which is generally stressful for the beneficiaries and will eat into their inheritance.