Everyone needs an estate plan, period. Yet there are so many people out there without one, possibly even you. My three favorite excuses for why people don't have an estate plan are (1) Everything will go to my family when I die anyhow, or I'm young and don't own anything, (2) It's too expensive, and (3) I don't like to think about that kind of stuff. Here are some interesting facts that may make you reconsider:
Take some time to think about what would happen to your family, significant other, your pet, your assets, etc. if you died tomorrow. If that makes you uncomfortable, give Varnum a call. A good estate plan will help give you peace of mind.
- Do you know where your stuff really goes?: Sure, if you only have one child and spouse you don't have a lot of difficult distribution decisions to make, but if you don't have a Trust set up did you know that your grieving family will have to go through the probate court system to get ownership of anything titled in your name alone? Did you know that only a portion of your estate goes to your spouse if you have surviving children or parents? Also, you may think your family gets along great and no one would argue over "your stuff", but you would be shocked to hear some of the things that estate planners have seen family fight over; money can have strange effects on people and cause fighting where you would least expect it.
- Medical Decisions: An estate plan also puts people in place to make medical (and financial) decisions for you if you become incapacitated. For example, I had a friend that was hurt in a ski accident – his parents were from Wisconsin and were traveling to come and see him in the days before everyone had cell phones; all of us ski-bums were sitting in the surgical ICU in Denver only knowing that our friend was alive and nothing else because his parents were the only people that the doctors could legally speak with. Had my friend named someone local as his Patient Advocate, we could have had news and there would've been someone there to make decisions on his behalf more quickly than the long hours it took his parents to drive from Wisconsin.
- Time & Money: It can cost a lot more money (and will take much longer) to go through the courts to distribute your estate than it will if you pay the money to get it done up front while you're healthy and everyone is getting along. There is a case where a person died leaving a small parcel of property in another state – the only child (and only heir) is still trying to get ownership of the parcel 3 years later; had a Will and Trust been in place, this could have been resolved in months, not years.
- Choices: You worked hard for your money and assets, you should have a say in where it goes – not the state or a judge. You can provide for charities, significant others, or friends, and you can take care of your pets all through a good estate plan.
- Guarantees: You are going to die someday, one of the only guarantees you get in life. It's better to plan for it and make it easier on your family while you are healthy.
(Editor's Note: Attorney Jessica DesNoyers authored this post while working in Varnum's Grand Haven office. Jessica is currently with another firm.)