Estate Planning is Important - Even When You Are Young and Healthy

It's a fairly common belief that estate planning is something that most people do not worry about until they start reaching retirement age. However, I believe that there are three times in a person's life where having an estate plan, and updating the plan become important that all occur relatively early in life. The three milestones are: 1) upon entering into a career; 2) after becoming married, and 3) after having children. At each of these stages, there are very important aspects of estate planning that everyone should consider taking advantage of.

What is Estate Planning?

Simply put, estate planning is the ability for you to make your wishes known. Why is this important? Because unfortunately, accidents happen. Without an estate plan in place, things can get quite complicated when issues arise regarding your medical treatment and your property in the event that you are not in a position to act on your own behalf.

The biggest obstacle in everyone's way in regards to planning for the future, is the scary notion that something could happen to us. But I've always been told that it is better to be safe then sorry, especially when creating an adequate plan for an unexpected event is relatively easy and inexpensive.

Keep reading, and discover the reasons that I believe everyone should have an estate plan early in life, and revisit that plan as the circumstances arise.

Estate Planning when Starting a New Career

Creating a Medical Directive - A medical directive is likely the document that people believe is the most important, because it is your chance to tell your doctors how you wish to be treated in the untimely event of a medical emergency. This important document can be as specific as you wish, directing your doctors to continue all their efforts to keep you alive, or to grant them the ability to remove life support if you are unlikely to ever recover. Now don't be afraid here, Ohio has very specific laws that doctors must follow even if you do grant them the authority to 'pull the plug'. Even still, it is important for you to make this decision in a medical directive to remove any questions regarding the subject, and to save your family members from the daunting task of making these decisions for you.

Creating a Medical Power of Attorney - A medical power of attorney works hand in hand with the Medical Directive mentioned above. Essentially, any decisions that you do not want to make on your own in advanced, you can grant to a person of your choosing. Under this document, you can empower someone to make the decisions for you, and most importantly, you get to choose who that person is. Generally, most single individuals would want their parents to make that decision for you, but by taking time to create a medical power of attorney, all questions as to who has the authority to make the decision will be answered well before the issue arises. 

Creating a Durable Power of Attorney - The durable power of attorney is relatively similar to the medical power of attorney above, however, this one covers all legal issues, including: your house, car, bank accounts, contracts, etc. Basically, this power of attorney allows you to grant someone the power to act on your behalf should you be unable to do so. Why is this important? Because if the unfortunate circumstances arise that you are needing medical support, it may be necessary for your power of attorney to take actions to support your financial future, and without a power of attorney, those decisions cannot be made quickly.

Creating a Will - As you enter the workforce, many wonderful things start happening. First off, you have income! You may have purchased a car or a new home, start collecting vinyl records (like I do), and are likely to begin investing in your future financially. It is important in this stage of life to start thinking about what would happen to all of these assets in the future. Frankly put, if you don't have a plan as to what will happen to these assets in the case of an untimely death, the State and it's laws will be making the decisions for you. A basic Will is important as you can designate, as specifically or as generally as you like, who is to receive the assets that you have worked hard to acquire. Not only are your wishes made known, but it saves your family from potential fights that I have often seen arise. By spending a few minutes to create a plan, you create peace of mind for yourself, and for your family.

Estate Planning When Getting Married

The first time it becomes important to re-visit your estate plan is when you get married. First off, you will likely want to place all the decision making authority under your Medical and Durable Powers of Attorney to your spouse. These documents become increasingly important when you get married because your spouse and family members may have different opinions in a time of crisis. Terri Schaivo is a perfect example of this situation in which her husband and family fought over how Terri should be treated for fifteen years as she remained in a permanent vegetative state. Had Terri created a Medical Directive or Medical Power of Attorney, these issues would never have made it to court or the national news. Having an estate plan creates peace of mind and explains to your family members how things should be to avoid the potential for disputes. 

Also, at this time its important to revisit your will to make sure that things would be distributed accordingly, so that your spouse is taken care of in the event of an unfortunate accident, and to make sure that disputes don't arise with your family members. You may also find that your wishes have tend to change now that you share your life with another person fully.

Estate Planning After Having Children

Easily the most important aspect of estate planning after you have children is making sure that they are taken care of should something happen to you. While this usually means financially, it also allows for you to designate who would be the guardian of your children should your spouse be involved as well. The thing I always think of is poor Bruce Wayne who lost both of his parents at the same time and was left to be raised by Alfred in the mansion all by himself. Assuming your estate isn't large enough to fund your child's obsession with vigilante justice, it's important to designate caring and loving people who will be able to raise your children in the event that you are unable to do so yourself.

As you can see, estate planning is extremely important for younger individuals, maybe even more important than it is for those that are already further along in life.

Contact me today and we can get the ball rolling on making sure that you have the plans in place to protect your future!