Estate planning helps people ensure which of their friends and family will receive certain assets. Proper estate planning can also avoid inheritance taxes and disputes between loved ones about who should get what from an estate. While estate planning offers a lot, how much money does a person need to have to need an estate plan?
Estate planning is not just for those with massive fortunes to give away after they pass on. Everyone can benefit from estate planning in different ways. Not many people know how estate planning can help them, which is why 60% of Americans do not have an estate plan.
What can estate planning do for me?
There are features of estate planning that do not have anything to do with financial assets. For minors’ parents, estate planning allows them to specify who will be the guardian of their children if they pass on before the children are adults. Without a declaration of guardianship, the children may wind up under the protection of someone that the parents would not approve of.
Estate planning can also keep loved ones from making life-or-death decisions. A healthcare directive is a document that specifies what medical choices you would make in certain situations. With a directive, if you cannot speak or act on your own behalf, the directive can dictate decisions about how long you want to remain on life support or in a coma, or what types of surgeries you would consent to. When a spouse or child has to decide to take you off life support, it can leave them with guilt for the rest of their life. Through estate planning, you can avoid putting any unnecessary burden on anyone else for your choices.
Now is the best time to start planning
No one needs to have millions of dollars in their bank account before preparing for their future. Contact an estate planning attorney today to see what you can do to answer some critical questions before it is too late.