When was the last time you gave some serious thought to your estate plan? If you cannot remember, or if you have never done any estate planning, you are not alone. We will all need it eventually, so why don’t we think about it more often?
For one thing, many people do not realize just how fragile life can be. They assume they have all sorts of time — years or perhaps decades — to get their affairs in order. Of course, the reality is that anyone can pass away at any age due to accidents, unexpected diseases, violence and a host of other factors. Sometimes, people only start thinking about estate planning when a close friend or family member passes away unexpectedly.
Even when they know they need to do estate planning, a lot of people put it off because they feel uncomfortable thinking about the end. They do not enjoy it. Necessary or not, they cannot bring themselves to face it so directly.
Sometimes, people just feel like they do not have time. They’re still working hard, so they don’t have time to think about what happens to that estate after they pass away.
Many times, people also do not understand how complex estate planning can be. It’s about more than just a will that you write up in 10 minutes. You may want to consider trusts, advance directives, powers of attorney and many other types of documents.
Make sure you know what steps to take to do your estate planning. An experienced New Jersey estate planning attorney can help you.
Source: Nov. 30, -0001
