It turns out that 67% of America does a lot of things like…
67% of Americans use Social Media.
67% of Americans own a pet.
67% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
67% of Americans eat chocolate on Valentines day.
Also, 67% of Americans don’t have an estate plan.
And unfortunately, without an estate plan, you are leaving a large part of your retirement planning and legacy to be decided by others (including the state).
But I have good news! Estate plans are often far simpler than most people think.
Keep It Simple Stupid
But I get it. There is a reason that the majority of Americans don’t have estate documents.
Estate documents often sound overwhelming, time consuming, and expensive.
But fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way.
The key is to keep it simple.
There are only 3 things that are important for most estate plans.
Deciding where you want your assets to go.
Medical Directives (your wishes for your medical care).
Power of Attorney (who can make decisions if you can’t).
Where Your Assets Go
There are 3 main tools to make sure your hard-earned money goes where you want it to.
Beneficiary Designations (on things like life insurance and retirement accounts)
A Will
A Trust
You want to make sure that all your assets with a beneficiary (like life insurance or retirement accounts) have the correct beneficiaries.
This step is so critical because even a will/trust can’t undo a wrong beneficiary.
For other assets that don’t have a beneficiary you will want to have a will or trust to designate where that property is going to go.
Medical Directives
Medical directives can also be called advance directives or a living will.
Regardless of the name, the main goal is for you to document your wishes with regards to what medical care you want or don’t want.
This will make it easier on you and your loved ones when making hard medical decisions.
Power of Attorney
Having power of attorneys in place allows someone else to make decisions for you if you can not.
There are two types that are important: Financial and Medical.
For example, if you become incapacitated, these documents will allow someone you designate to make financial and/or medical decisions on your behalf to keep your affairs in order.
Best Places to Get Estate Documents
There are two main options for obtaining estate documents.
Online
Getting your documents online tends to be a much cheaper (if not free) option but you often give up personalized service/advice.
Attorney
The other option is working with an estate attorney to draft your needed documents. This option tends to be more expensive but can save you a lot of time trying to figure it all out by yourself. You just want to make sure you are working with a reputable lawyer who won’t try to give you a more complicated (and expensive) plan than you need.
Regardless of how you do it, one thing is clear. Having estate documents will help your hard-earned money go to those you love while also bringing much needed peace of mind.
