Monthly Archives: July 2017

Top Ten Reasons People Procrastinate Estate Planning

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The great thing about practicing in the area of estate planning is that it’s the one thing everyone needs, and the one thing everyone asks me if I can do. But I do get a lot of inquiries from people who don’t go through with it. I also get a lot of clients in their 50’s and 60’s (and even older) who have never done any estate planning, or have not updated their estate planning since Jimmy Carter was president—and yours truly was watching Scooby Doo on Saturday mornings.

Here are the top ten reasons I hear for why people have put off this very important task.

10. “I don’t have enough assets to bother doing any estate planning.” Do you have minor children? Regardless of your assets, you should have a will that nominates who will be their guardian if you and their other parent should both die. Even if your assets are not all that significant, an estate planning package also includes powers of attorney for financial matters and for health care. Absolutely everyone should have both of these documents in place and should update them from time to time. Taking the simple step to put powers of attorney in place will enable the person you designate to take care of you if you become disabled, thus potentially avoiding an expensive guardianship proceeding, and possibly also a medical and ethical crisis.

9. “I’m afraid it will cost too much.” First, the cost is not prohibitive. You might ask the Oracle (=your iPhone) what estate planning should cost. Better yet, call around and find out what attorneys are charging in your area. Be prepared to give the attorney an idea of the nature and level of your wealth and your family situation, because this will affect the recommendations the attorney makes and the cost of the work. Second, if you have enough assets to generate any kind of probate proceeding, you have enough assets to pay for an appropriate level of estate planning.

8. “My kids can deal with it when I’m dead; I won’t care ’cause I won’t be around.” Fair to say, you won’t be around to see the mess you create. But is that any way to live your life? If you care about your family now, why would you not make the effort to make their lives easier in the future by nominating who will be in charge and providing for who gets what? The Golden Rule seems particularly apt here: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

7. “I don’t want to have to make all the decisions about who will be in charge when I die and who will get everything.” It will require you to do some thinking and some planning. You may have to get in contact with friends or relatives to ask if they would be willing to serve as your executor or as agent under your power of attorney. But your estate planning attorney will give you guidance, and the results are worth the effort.

6. “Calling around to locate a lawyer is icky. I would rather leave it on my “to-do” list for another day.” Conceded; calling lawyers out of the blue could be an unpleasant prospect. But with the internet, you can let your fingers do the searching and get some information about estate planning, and about local estate planning lawyers, in advance of picking up the phone. Lots of people who find me on the internet say they’ve read my biography or my reviews and they already like me from what they’ve read. (My biography is here  and my client reviews are here).

5. “I would like to get this done, but my husband isn’t ready.” This is tough. Married couples should do their estate planning together, or at least in coordination, particularly if they have community or joint property. If, after an appropriate amount of time has passed and your efforts to persuade him or her have been unfruitful, and it will not cause undue hardship on your marriage, you might consider making an appointment just for yourself. Your spouse may be more willing to follow suit if you pave the way.

4. “I don’t need a will because all my assets are in joint tenancy with my spouse.” Has it ever occurred to you that your spouse might die before you do? Or that you might die in a common disaster? What will happen then? A probate will be necessary at the death of the second spouse. If you and your spouse have children from prior marriages, all the assets will pass to the surviving spouse, and then to the children or heirs of the surviving spouse—unless you provide otherwise with a will or trust. If that is not the result you want, you should put some estate planning in place to provide for both spouses’ children.

3. “The wife and I did wills in ’76; I’m sure that’s good enough.” Hopefully, your assets have changed and increased since then; maybe enough to warrant establishing a trust. And your kids have grown up. Maybe you now have grandchildren to be taken into consideration. Your family may have some special needs that did not exist in ’76. The persons you nominated as executor may no longer be alive or willing to serve. If your antiquated will was not prepared with a self-proving affidavit signed by the witnesses, your executor may be unable to probate it if he or she cannot find those same witnesses and get them to sign an affidavit regarding your competency. There are lots of reasons to update your estate planning periodically. Get on the ball.

2. “I’m too busy.” We are all busy, for sure. Something has to be important, or we have to make it a priority, in order to fit it into our schedule. I recently heard a Chinese proverb quoted: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.”

1. “I am afraid if I do my estate planning, it means I will die.” News flash: You will die whether or not you do any estate planning. Signing your will or setting up a trust will not induce that day to come any sooner. Getting your estate planning done by a professional will give you peace of mind, knowing that you’ve provided for an orderly administration and distribution of your assets when that day comes. Call today. Seriously.