8 Reasons to Keep Putting Off Your Estate Planning

There are six forty-pound bags of water softener salt sitting in the trunk of your car. You know you should carry them to the basement, but ugh. Maybe sudless showers aren’t so bad.  

Your refrigerator could also use a full clean-out. (Looking at you, Hellman's Mayonnaise Dec0922). 

And your pantry? It hasn’t been organized since you began hoarding paper towels and toilet paper in March of 2020. You’ve got your entire neighborhood covered for the next pandemic. 

Look, we get it. When it comes to to-do lists, procrastination is king. Tedious chores take time and aren’t fun to do. Plus, it’s easy to put off tasks that no one else will notice behind closed doors. 

(Please don’t open my fridge the next time you visit.)

There are some tasks in life, however, that should never be delayed: estate planning is one of them.  

An estate plan is simply the process of documenting what you want to happen following your death and who or how you want these wishes carried out. Your estate plan can include documents such as a living will, last will and testament, financial power of attorney, medical power of attorney, and trusts.

While it may be difficult to think about the future and what will happen after you are gone, estate planning is a task that you need to complete now.  

But if you’re a “why do today what you can put off until tomorrow” kind of person, here are eight reasons to keep procrastinating your estate planning. 

8 Reasons to Keep Procrastinating & Avoid Estate Planning

1. You enjoy worrying about worst case scenarios.

That nagging feeling you get, that feeling of unease hanging over your head when you put off something that needs to be done? That will be your reward if you decide to put off estate planning.  

When you get your estate in order — no matter how much your estate is worth — you can have peace of mind that your affairs are in order and you’ve made preparations for the future that are easy to understand, follow, and comply with the required laws. 

 2. You have complete faith in the government's ability to take care of your assets. 

Did you know that If you do not have a will, the state gets to determine how to distribute your assets?

Executing a will or creating a trust are just a few of the ways you can guarantee that your assets are distributed exactly how you would like. 

Through your estate, you can also name executors and trustees that you trust and have confidence in, so you’ll know that they will carry out your wishes. This personal representative will handle your estate and carry out tasks like paying off any debts, allocating property amongst beneficiaries, liquidating assets, and distributing cash proceeds, amongst others.

 3. You want your loved ones to waste time and money in probate court.

If you avoid planning your estate now, your assets will end up in probate. 

What’s probate? 

Probate is the process of administering assets after someone has passed. And it’s costly and time consuming. Getting your affairs in order prior to your death will help your family avoid this lengthy and expensive process.

 4. You like giving the government more money. 

A lack of planning will equal an abundance of taxes. This means less money for your family! 

There are ways to structure your estate to avoid unnecessary estate taxes that your estate will have to make, and instead, put those assets in the hands of your loved ones.

 5. Your crazy brother-in-law will raise your kids.

While planning for guardianship is not a scenario that is fun to think about, it is an extremely important step of estate planning.  

If you have minor children, you can intentionally designate a guardian or conservator to be appointed upon your death. 

That way, the right person will care for your children. And, they’ll be financially provided for according to your exact wishes. 

You know who will raise your children best. Make sure you legally document your choice.

 6. You don't care who makes your end of life decisions.

In the event that you are incapacitated, a durable power of attorney means that you’ll have a designated individual you trust to handle your financial decisions. This person will have legal authority to pay your living expenses or execute documents for you. So it’s important to identify the right person for this job when you’re creating a comprehensive estate plan. 

You may also require a medical directive and a healthcare power of attorney while you’re physically well to ensure that if something happened to you, the trustworthy people would be making decisions about your medical care, too

 7. You want your nosy neighbors to know your personal information. 

Posting all of your vacation pics on Facebook is one thing. But do you also want your personal and financial information released out into the public?

Heck no! 

If your will goes to probate court, it becomes public record and will be available to anyone who inquires about it. 

Anyone.

Your estate plan will include steps to maintain financial and personal privacy.

8. That nonprofit you’ve faithfully supported won’t see a dime.

If you don’t spell it out, there’ll be no charitable giving of your choosing. 

That ‘s why your estate plan can also include charitable giving after you pass away. As you build the estate plan, you can leave room for specific amounts of money or assets to be passed along to charitable organizations that you are passionate about.

 If these eight reasons for procrastinating your estate planning have convinced you to keep putting it off, maybe you didn’t pick up on the sarcasm. 

 We get it – it feels like such a daunting task. But that’s where we can help. We make this easy for you. 

Our team here at the Wylkan Law office specializes in estate planning and elder law, and they are ready to help you create your comprehensive estate plan. 

So don’t procrastinate.  Attend an upcoming workshop to take the first easy step forward. 

And throw out that jar of Hellman’s.