Estate Planning For Divorced Or Single

Think estate planning is only for those with families? Or people with significant wealth? Not true. While you may, or may not, have kids to worry about or lots of money to protect, estate planning is very much for you. The following questions will help illustrate how an estate plan can help you: 

• If divorced, did you have a will or trust with your former spouse? (That should be changed.)
• If something happens to you, who will handle your financial affairs? (If you don’t have a legally designated individual, your affairs will go through the court system. And that’s not good.) 
• If you become incapacitated, from a car accident for example, who would and could make medical decisions on your behalf? (Medical privacy laws are very strict – so strict that without legal permission even siblings or parents may not be permitted to speak on your behalf.) 
• Do you want your assets to automatically go to your next of kin without them being probated? (Without proper planning your assets could be tied up in court for quite some time.)
• Do you have a will and believe that is all you need? (A will is a good start but doesn’t cover everything … such as probate avoidance, medical decisions, etc.) 

Estate planning answers all these questions for divorced and single people and gives you peace of mind. If something happens to you, you won’t be the cause of undue burden on friends and family members.