It’s very common for people to wait to draft a will or create a trust. In fact, roughly two-thirds of all Americans do not have an estate plan at this time. One of the major reasons they provide, when asked why they haven’t done any planning, is that they are going to do it later.
They may think that this is logical because an estate plan is necessary at the end of their life, but putting it off can actually be very harmful to them and their family.
A lack of guidance
For one thing, if a person passes away unexpectedly, their family doesn’t have any guidance on what should be done with their estate. Many people just assume that they have decades left to live and make this plan, but passing away due to a sudden illness or in a car accident could mean that they never get a chance to do so.
Increased odds of estate disputes
Because there’s no guidance, the odds are higher that beneficiaries and descendants will get involved in estate disputes. They have to make critical decisions, and odds are that they’re not all going to agree on those decisions. These disputes can drive a wedge between family members.
Difficult medical decisions
Speaking of making decisions, an estate plan can also be used to set up a medical power of attorney or another advance directive giving healthcare instructions. Failing to do so means that family members may have to make difficult medical decisions on their own, including end-of-life care.
These are just three reasons why it can be problematic to put off making an estate plan. To get started, just begin looking into the necessary legal steps.