Making an estate plan feels like something that everyone is going to need to do. Whether you’re leaving a million dollars or $100 to your heirs, it can be helpful to have a plan in place.
Additionally, estate planning is about more than money. You may need to pick guardians for your children, for instance, or set up a medical power of attorney so that you know who’s going to make your medical decisions. At some point, everyone is going to run into some of the issues that can be addressed by estate planning, if not all.
When you think about it this way, you can understand why it’s important for everyone to have a plan. However, the statistics show that not everyone has decided to do this. In fact, the majority of people don’t have a plan in place yet.
The reasons vary
The second thing you’ll probably ask is why people don’t do estate planning, but there are really a lot of different reasons, so every case is unique. For instance, some people only think about money and don’t consider all of the other options they have. Other people just procrastinate and assume that estate planning is something they can do down the line. Still others would like to create a plan, but they just feel like they don’t have time or they’re overwhelmed by the whole process.
If you fall into any of these camps and you haven’t made an estate plan yet, it may be time to consider all of the steps that you can take. Don’t leave your family with no direction when you pass away.