Most people put off estate planning. In fact, most people don’t have a will.
If you think about it, you may assume that people without their documents in line are reckless individuals who like to take chances. They know they’re going to pass away, after all, and they know they cannot predict when it will happen. Not doing estate planning, then, is quite a gamble.
The reality, though, is that even careful people do this. They may be great at checking smoke alarm batteries, changing the oil in the car and taking all sorts of other precautions to avoid serious complications, but they still don’t do their estate planning.
Why not? A few reasons include:
- They don’t like to think about it
- They assume they can do it later
- They think their own parents did not plan, so it’s not important
- They think only the super-rich need to do estate planning
- They are superstitious about anything of this sort
- It seems complicated
- They do not care what happens to their assets, and they would like someone else to figure it out
These are just a few of the reasons, but you can see quickly that you are not alone if you have no estate plan. It’s very easy to put it off or buy into one of these myths.
The truth is that estate planning is just one more way to be careful. This time, you’re being careful with your family’s future. If that’s something that you would like to do, it’s important for you to understand all of the steps you will need to take.