The Importance of Estate Planning
January 19, 2024 | Wendy Hoey Sheinberg |When we think about making plans to secure our future, generally the discussions revolve around education, career, family, and finances. Creating a comprehensive estate plan, including effective advanced directives, can elude even the most organized and diligent people. A survey by Caring.com noted that 1 in 5 people who died during the 2020 pandemic did not have an estate plan. While postpandemic there is an upward trend in estate planning among younger adults, an estimated 67% of Americans still have no estate plan.
Estate plans do much more than just outline how to distribute your assets upon death. Estate plans should include health care instructions, appointment of a trusted agent to manage your financial affairs, note your guardianship wishes for both yourself and/or your children, what happens to your pets and more. While planning in contemplation of death or incapacity is not the easiest topic to tackle, taking steps to make your wishes known and enforceable will reduce the chaos that unfolds without good planning.
This article was originally published in WILS Connect Vol. 4 No. 2 and is reprinted with permission of the New York State Bar Association.
