If you have not made an estate plan, you might assume that most other people you know have. Unfortunately, you’d be wrong.
A recent study found that 67% of adults have not yet made theirs either. So, where does this collective failure to plan for the future come come from?
Here are some of the reasons people gave in the study when explaining why they did not have an estate plan yet:
- 44% had not got around to it
- 33% thought they did not have enough assets to need one
- 13% thought creating an estate plan would cost too much
- 12% were unsure how to do it
Maybe some of those excuses resonate with you? Yet, just because many others are using them doesn’t mean you should too.
Failing to create an estate plan is a bad idea
It really is that simple. You, and every other person over the age of 18 should make your estate plans as soon as possible. Let’s look closer at some of those reasons people gave for not having one.
Not having many assets is not a valid reason, because part of your estate plan has nothing to do with passing assets on – it’s about looking after you should you fall into ill health. While estate plans have a cost, there is also a significant cost if you don’t have one, only it might be your family who foots the bill or loses out on assets if you fail to make a plan.
As for being unsure how to do it – there is legal help available and the sooner you seek it, the sooner you can cancel out the most popular reason of all – not getting around to it.