It is often thought that Estate Planning is the “rich person’s” tool for distributing millions of dollars’ worth of assets…this couldn’t be further from the truth. Estate planning is much broader and deeper than just a person’s assets and is why almost everyone needs to have an Estate Plan in place.
Estate planning isn’t about assets…it is about someone’s life and their loved ones. There are many aspects to having a quality Estate Plan that don’t involve assets. For example, there are guardianship issues for those that have minor children. There are medical directives for when you get sick or injured. There are powers of attorney that come into play if your some reason you can’t make decisions on your own. These are just a few of the many elements that go into creating a powerful and effective estate plan…none of which have to do with the amount of assets you may have.
And since often times these are younger people who have not yet lived long enough to accumulate assets they need to look at the other aspects to estate planning. People often think they do not really need estate plans if they are young and have limited assets. If people do not own any real estate and do not have any other valuable property, it will not be too difficult for their families to handle their assets upon their death. However, estate planning is about more than that, as the Times Herald-Record discusses in "Everyone can benefit from an estate plan."
Almost all estate plans today also include some legal documents that are traditionally considered elder law documents. Despite the term "elder law", even young people need these documents because they are really about planning for disability, for example.
This is planning for the possibility that you could have an accident or illness that does not kill you. However, it can leave you legally incapacitated even if it is only on a temporary basis. These documents include a health care power of attorney, so someone else has the authority to make health care decisions on your behalf. It also includes a general durable power of attorney, so someone else can handle your finances, if you are unable to do so.
I encourage everyone to think about their estate plan as much broader and something you should have in place while you are living as much as when you have passed away. If you take nothing else away from this post, I hope you will realize that estate planning is for the living as much (or more) than when you pass away. If you understand how this can work in your life you will realize the power of an estate plan and how much it can help you live your life to the fullest.