Estate planning is an important part of setting your family up for future success and comfort. It can be a very complicated process, but it’s one of the best things you can do for those that you love.
However, many people make mistakes in their estate planning because they hear common myths about the process and they believe them. To help you make sure you can avoid these mistakes, let’s take a moment to break down three of these myths.
All you need is a will
A will is a good place to start and helps you divide your assets between your heirs, but it is certainly not all that you need. You may also want to consider a power of attorney, for instance, so that someone can make medical or legal decisions for you if you’re in a state where you can’t do it for yourself. You can also use trusts to give yourself a bit more control over how your assets are passed on. There are quite a lot of options, and just a will is usually not enough.
You can do it later
One of the biggest reasons that people don’t do their estate planning is not because they don’t think it’s important, but because they’re just putting it off. They think they can procrastinate and do it later. The trouble with this is that it raises the risk that you will pass away unexpectedly without an estate plan, so it is always better to do your planning as soon as you can. Remember that you can always make updates in the future.
Only the very rich need estate plans
A lot of wealthy individuals may have more complex estate plans, but everyone can benefit from them. Even if you have small amounts of assets, explaining how to divide them to your heirs is helpful. Often, heirs have the most trouble deciding what to do with sentimental items that may have no financial value at all. Additionally, an estate plan can be used to do things like picking a guardian for your child or deciding who gets to make your medical decisions. These have nothing to do with wealth, and they can be beneficial to everyone.
Now that you understand what myths to avoid, take the time to look into all the legal options you have to make the right estate plan for your family.
