What’s an estate plan? An estate plan is trusts, wills, powers of attorney, advanced healthcare directives. It’s a plan you make about your family and your money, rather than letting the government do what it wants to with the people and things you love.
What’s wrong with the government’s plan? A lot, but let’s start with five reasons you need an estate plan.
- The Candy Apple Red Corvette. If you die while your children are minors, they will inherit your money and property at age 18 outright – with no strings attached. How long will it take your child(ren) to spend everything you’ve got when they reach age 18?
- The Evil Cousin. We all have that family member we would NOT want to raise our kids or make decisions for us. If you don’t put in writing that your Evil Cousin is not to be involved with your family, health, and finances, how will the court know not to appoint Evil Cousin?
- Don’t Let Anyone Play Guess Who with Your Life. If you ever have a medical issue that prevents you from taking care of your responsibilities for a while, who will make sure your bills get paid? Who prevent you from losing your car, home, or business? Who will make medical decisions for you when you can’t? Wouldn’t you rather choose, rather than letting a judge (who doesn’t know your family) decide for you?
- Your Organs. Shouldn’t you get to decide whether to be an organ donor? Don’t you want to make your own decisions about life support? If you haven’t put your wishes in writing, your loved ones may have to make these decisions – at an already difficult time in their lives.
- Dead Men Can’t Speak – And Neither Can a Comatose Mom. By now, you might realize that having a plan is about more than just saying what you want to happen after you die. If you were comatose today, who would speak for you? Aren’t there things you would like to tell your kids yourself, rather than letting those things come from another person when you can’t speak?
With a proper estate plan, you can address these five issues – and much more. Don’t let the government decide what happens to the people you love, or the things you’ve worked hard for.
ASH LAW is a boutique law firm, located in Missouri, and dedicated to thoughtful estate planning and fierce family law advocacy. To schedule a consultation, call or email ASH LAW at 816-895-2990 or [email protected].
