It is very common for people to put off estate planning, often until retirement. For example, some reports have found that 66% of Americans do not have an estate plan. When asked why not, 40% said they had not gotten around to it, meaning that the biggest reason for a lack of estate planning was simply procrastination.
It is understandable why people feel this way. For one thing, they are still earning assets and increasing their net worth while they work, so it feels natural that they would want to make an estate plan after they are done earning. Additionally, many people expect to live into their 70s or 80s, so making an estate plan in their 60s sounds reasonable.
Why procrastination can be a risk
However, procrastinating on estate planning comes with significant risks. The first reason is that, unfortunately, not everyone lives as long as they expect to. People die every day from unexpected illnesses or injuries. If a person passes away unexpectedly before creating an estate plan, their family loses critical guidance at that time.
On top of that, just remember that estate plans can always be modified or changed. If you create an estate plan in your 30s, it is true that you may have significantly more assets by the time you turn 65. But you do not need to wait to write a will. You can simply update that will periodically to make sure that the provisions always line up with your actual assets.
These are certainly not all the reasons to do estate planning early, but they help show why procrastination may be a mistake. If you would like to create a plan this year, an experienced estate planning attorney can help.