Estate Planning

When To Begin Your Estate Plan

Here you will learn when to begin planning your estate, as well as why it is so important to do it now.

After deciding you need an estate plan, you likely need to know when to begin your estate plan. The best time is as soon as you become legally accountable for your decisions: the age of 18. You should certainly do it no later than the date of marriage, date of birth of your child, or upon opening your first bank account or buying your first home. Meaning, if you haven’t done it by the time you were 18, it’s certainly not too late to do it right now. If you want to know when to begin your estate plan, the most basic and honest answer is: now is a great time.

Unfortunately, many people do not have a will or a trust which will identify their intent and desires after their death. They become so involved in their daily activities that they give little thought to the consequences of their demise. Others—who actually realize the importance of estate planning to protect and provide for their dependents—think that they can wait to prepare their estate plan until later. But if they die prematurely, they can leave their loved ones unprotected. The consequences of procrastination can be financially devastating. This is why the answer of when to begin your estate plan is always right now.

Estate Planning is vital for everyone no matter what your level of income, net worth or other family circumstances. Without a proper plan for the future, you could be leaving your children or loved ones with complications. These complications could add up to unnecessary fees and possibly a delayed distribution of your estate.

Unfortunately, many people are so bombarded with decisions in their daily life that when it comes to making decisions about death, the common habit is to make no decision at all.

Hopefully, you do not find yourself in this category. If you do, please do not feel bad. You are not too late! Since you now know when to begin your estate plan, you can get started immediately.

Even though you know when to begin your estate plan, you may be like one of many people who think they are too busy, believe they do not own enough to justify an estate plan, or are simply too confused to think about what to do. As a result, they never plan for their death.

If you let this happen to you, the distribution of your estate may fall under your state’s intestate succession statutes. While these guidelines attempt to be fair, they may not necessarily distribute the estate according to your wishes. For example, in some states the estate could be split up between the spouse and the children allowing only a share of the estate to go to the spouse. Furthermore, the laws in some states only allow for the inheritance of property to the blood line and not to special companions and friends. In addition, if you have minor children, the courts may control the inheritance and appoint guardianship of your children. If you procrastinate and never make a documented decision, your decision could be left up to the courts.

If you feel that these decisions are too important to leave up to the courts (and most people do), then you know when to begin your estate plan: right now.