No one can force you to have an estate plan; no law requires it. Not even a will. In fact, if you don’t have a will, the state already has a process in place for that situation. You may not like what they do (though of course, you won’t be around to care, but your loved ones will), but they are perfectly capable of making all kinds of decisions for you. For example, who gets your assets.
The following are 5 key things your loved ones will have to deal with if you don’t have your affairs in order when you die. Will you be ok with it? Read on and see.
- Without an up-to-date, complete estate plan, your assets may have to go through probate. This will, at minimum, cost your family time. Maybe money too. And cause delays. And hassles.
- As mentioned, if you don’t have a legally acceptable will, the state will be delighted to take over and determine how your assets will be distributed. Ok, “delighted” may not be the right word, but they will do it, and your things can easily end up going to people you wouldn’t have wanted them to. But without a will, you relinquish your say in the matter.
- You’re sticking your loved ones with the burden of making decisions they shouldn’t. Decisions related to your end-of-life preferences, funeral arrangements, healthcare decisions, and more. I have seen more than one spouse or adult child stressed to the max trying to determine what their recently departed loved one would have wanted. It is not fair to burden them when you can so easily avoid it.
- Let the fights begin! Disputes over assets don’t just happen when a celebrity dies without a will; we’ve all seen it happen in everyday families. Lifelong estrangements can begin over something as seemingly insignificant as a quilt or a teapot as much as they can over a multi-million dollar summer home. Legally documenting and, even better, sharing your decisions with your family upfront will go a long way to keeping peace after you’re gone.
- Someone has to figure it out. If you don’t have an estate plan with all the information about assets, debts, financial investments, etc., someone- one or more of your loved ones- will be left playing detective to figure it all out. Depending on how organized you are, or not, that can require a great deal of time. It may also leave them with unpleasant surprises. If you have all your “ducks in a row,” you control, even after you’re gone, how things will proceed, ideally saving your loved ones a lot of work.
At the end of the day, an estate plan isn’t for you; it is for your loved ones. Though I will tell you, once you have your plan done (or updated), you will enjoy peace of mind, which is pretty great. You’ll know you’ve done everything you can for those you love.
Please call me to help you with your estate plan, whether you’re creating one or updating an existing one. I can be reached at 513-399-7526. Or visit my website, www.davidlefton.com, for more information.