We’ve talked about estate planning on this blog quite a bit, and for good reason. It’s an incredibly important topic. You don’t want to make mistakes when you are putting together your estate plan, and you need to thoroughly think about who will be your heirs.
There are many misconceptions about estate plans, and one of them is that they are only for the wealthy or for people who are older. The latter is a stigma that has haunted estate plans for a long time. Young people often feel invincible, and as a result they may not be thinking about their future or planning for any deviations from where they imagine their life is heading.
But estate plans are important for anyone of any age. The earlier you start planning your estate, the better off you will be at a later age. Even when you are young, there are assets worth protecting, and you should at least have a say in how they are handled in case of an untimely accident or incident.
The other stigma we mentioned — that only wealthy people should consider estate plans — is also incorrect. They may have more assets and finances to protect, but wealthy people aren’t the only ones who need the protections offered under an estate plan. There are so many issues and matters that an estate plan can cover that to think you don’t have the right amount of wealth to have one is detrimental. Everyone needs an estate plan.
Source: CNBC, “Estate planning: Not just for the 1%,” Ivory Johnson, Sept. 29, 2014
