Do you know people who have not written a will or made an estate plan? Even if you never talk about it with them, you probably do. A shocking amount of people have never drafted a will. They just keep procrastinating and putting it off.
Have you ever wondered why they do this? Some potential reasons include:
- They do not have any idea how to get started. They know they need an estate plan, but it sounds complex and confusing. They just don’t know where to begin, so they do nothing.
- They do not feel like working on it. They get distracted by other projects and activities. The estate plan feels like work. They just procrastinate because they have other things they want to do more.
- They worry about doing it wrong. People often procrastinate — this goes for far more than estate planning — because of a fear of failure. This may be wrapped up in their confusion over where to begin. They worry about doing it wrong, so they do nothing — which is actually the biggest mistake they can make.
Not doing your estate planning puts your family and your estate at risk. It means that your assets may not go to who you want to have them, your heirs may end up paying far too much in taxes and you may not have important documents — like a medical directive — when you need them most.
If you have been procrastinating and putting it off, it is time to start looking into all of the legal options you have.