Did you know that the majority of Americans do not have an estate plan? This comes as a surprise to many people who know that estate planning will be necessary eventually. But it’s also incredibly common, as evidenced by statistics showing that about two-thirds of all Americans haven’t done their planning yet.
One of the main reasons that people will give when asked why they haven’t made an estate plan is that they think they’re just not old enough yet. Maybe they don’t believe they have enough assets. Maybe they think that estate planning is just for the elderly because they are getting closer to the end of their lives. But the reality is that an estate plan can be used by adults of any age, and there are many benefits even for younger individuals.
Planning for young parents
A good example of this is when people become parents in their 20s or their 30s. They may still feel that they are too young to make an estate plan, and they are not realistically expecting to pass their assets on to an infant.
But estate planning is still very important. One thing they could do is put the assets into a trust so that a trustee can control them and make distributions if their child is still a minor when they pass away.
Another thing that people can do as young parents is to choose a guardian for their child. If something happens to them, they need to know that someone is already in line to take care of their child and that it is someone they approve of. Choosing a guardian in advance allows them to speak to the guardian to be sure that they are on board with such a big responsibility.
Creating an estate plan
If you haven’t done your estate planning yet, you can see that you certainly aren’t alone. But it’s also clear that an estate plan is useful at any age, so be sure you know what steps to take to get one in place.