Everyone needs estate planning, but plenty of people skip over the importance of creating basic estate planning documents.
You might think that estate planning doesn’t apply to you because you’re relatively young, but any number of celebrity and news stories can show you just how dangerous it can be to skip an estate plan. It is always shocking to find out when a celebrity who had significant assets didn’t take any proactive steps for creating a good plan for those assets after their death.
A bigger surprise for many young adults is that they may need to do estate planning too, even if they do not yet own substantial wealth or do not have children to pass things on to. Everyone over age 18 needs some basic estate planning documents including financial and health care powers of attorney. These name someone else to step in and make decisions and take actions on your behalf if you are unable to do so because of a disability, illness, or injury.
Many people don’t realize until it’s too late the legal quandary and problems that can emerge when you do not take these positive and proactive steps. The right support of an attorney is instrumental in guiding you through this process of helping you name your financial and health care power of attorney agent. While you hope to never have to activate these individuals to step in to manage your affairs, it is good to know that you have already taken the steps to do so.
If you haven’t yet created a power of attorney, consider this a great starting point for your estate plan. Reach out to a lawyer today to learn more.