Estate planning, unfortunately, is not the norm. Roughly two-thirds of all people in America, according to some studies, do not have an estate plan.
Some of this is due to age. For many people, the issue isn’t that they don’t want to write a will or that they don’t think it’s valuable. Instead, they just believe it’s something they can do later in life. Someone in their 30s may not have an estate plan on file today simply because they’re planning to make that estate plan in their 60s or 70s.
Why this is a risk
The main reason this is a risky decision is simply because no one knows for sure when they are going to pass away. It’s true that life expectancy in the United States is in the late 70s. But many people pass away from heart disease or cancer well before their 70s, along with unexpected causes like car accidents and other accidental deaths. Someone who procrastinates their estate planning risks passing away early and leaving their family without any direction.
In this sense, it is also a risk not to have an estate plan because important decisions are taken out of your hands. Say that you’re incapacitated and someone needs to make medical decisions on your behalf, but you never wrote a living will or granted power of attorney. Your family could become involved in disputes over who even has the right to make these medical decisions—and they’re unlikely to make the decisions you would have preferred, simply because you didn’t leave them any instructions.
As you can see, it’s problematic to put off drafting your estate plan, so take the time to look into all of your legal options this year.