Not making an estate plan in advance can have some very serious consequences for your family. This is problematic because statistics show that most people have not yet done their estate planning. That means their families could face a litany of issues that could’ve been fixed if they would’ve addressed them in advance.
To show you why it’s so important to get your estate plan made in time, let’s look at some of the major downsides that occur if you fail to do so.
Disputes are more likely
For one thing, simply having an estate plan lowers the odds that your heirs will be involved in a dispute. Instead of deciding who gets which assets, they can just follow the directions in your will. Without a will, heirs have to work together to make these decisions, and that can lead to disputes over what is fair, what you would’ve wanted and what to do with sentimental items.
They don’t have any medical directions
Additionally, an estate plan can be used to set up your medical preferences in advance. You can tell your heirs about the type of medical treatment you want or what actions you want them to take if you are incapacitated. If you don’t leave them these documents, it can be difficult for heirs to decide what to do, especially since this is such an emotional time.
You don’t get to have any control
Finally, not making an estate plan means you can’t control how assets are used or distributed. But if you do make an estate plan, there are plenty of tools to do this. An example could be creating a trust that sets money aside to pay for someone’s college education. Your estate plan allows you to decide what will happen to your assets.
Setting up your plan
Have you not yet drafted an estate plan? Maybe you know it’s important, but you’ve been putting it off. You can see why it’s critical to get started soon, so begin looking into all of your legal options.