Young people and estate plans don’t seem to go together, but we can assure you that people of all ages need to plan for their future. Estate planning is often viewed as something old people do. But, while death or incapacity may not be on your mind when you’re just getting started out in life or even during middle age, you can’t afford to wait forever to put your plans in place. The future of life is simply too uncertain and the stakes are too high to put off planning until a later date as it may be too late by the time that day comes.
1. Estate planning allows you to make sure your children are provided for
One of the most important reasons for younger people to make an estate plan is to ensure that they are providing instructions for minor children’s care as well as making a plan to provide financial support for children.
Elderly people usually don’t have to worry about what would happen to their minor children if they pass away since their kids are grown. But that’s not the case for younger people who may have kids under the age of 18. Those children would need a guardian if something happened to both parents, and they would also need financial support to help them get to adulthood.
If you don’t have an estate plan in place, your family may disagree over who should get custody of your kids. You would lose the chance to make this important decision. With the right estate planning tools, though, you can name a guardian who you trust to raise your kids in line with your values. You can also decide the best way to leave assets for your kids. This may include creating a trust.
2. You can make your preferences known on important medical care issues
Often, your loved ones won’t know your preferences regarding extraordinary medical care when you are young and even middle-aged. After all, when you assume you have many decades until you get very sick or pass away, you’re unlikely to discuss these issues.
This can create major problems if you do become incapacitated though. Your loved ones might be left trying to guess what kinds of medical care you’d accept or would want to decline because of quality of life issues. This can create a tremendous amount of stress for your family members during a time when they are dealing with a serious illness or injury you suffered.
Without a plan, you could also find yourself receiving medical care you would have preferred not to have under the circumstances or, perhaps worse, not getting the care you would have rather had provided to you.
If you use tools like an advance directive or a living will, you won’t have to worry about any of these major issues arising. You’ll specify who should make decisions on your behalf and will also be able to make clear what your desires are for extraordinary medical interventions such as feeding tubes or ventilators.
You need a plan in place before incapacity happens as there’s no way to ever know if or when you’re going to get sick.
3. You can take action before it’s too late and your legacy is left to the courts
Finally, if you do not have a plan in place, then the default intestacy rules in your state are going to determine who inherits your money or property. You will not have a say about what happens to your hard-earned assets if you die.
While intestacy laws do try to give assets to close family members, the distribution of your money and property may not always be done the way that you would have preferred. This can be especially true if you are still young and if you are not yet married so you don’t have a spouse or kids who would be the most obvious recipients of your wealth.
You don’t want to leave everything in the hands of the courts when you can make a plan to express your own preferences. You can address all different kinds of issues in your plan ranging from who should care for your pets after you pass away to how you want your home, money, and other property distributed to those in your life.
Estate planning is important at every age so get help today
Estate planning is not something to put off until an undetermined date in the future as no one knows how many days they will have left in good health. It’s best to work with an experienced attorney as soon as possible. There are no disadvantages to making a plan and there are a lot of advantages to it — especially as you can modify your plans easily as life changes happen. The older folk and young people alike need an estate plan so their legacies are protected for the future.
If you live in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach, Mandarin, or the surrounding areas of Northeast Florida, an estate planning lawyer at The Edwards Law Firm will help you to make your plans now to secure your future and the security of your loved ones. Give us a call today at 904.672.7600 to learn how we can help you.
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