No matter what your net worth is, it’s important to have an estate plan in place.
Estate planning is one of the most important steps any person can take to make sure that their final property and health care wishes are honored, and that loved ones are provided for in their absence.
Though often overlooked or put off in favor of more immediate concerns, a comprehensive estate plan can resolve a number of legal questions that arise whenever anyone dies.
Those questions include:
- What is the state of their financial affairs?
- What real and personal property do they own?
- Who gets what?
- Does a personal guardian need to be appointed to care for minor children?
- How much tax will need to be paid in order to transfer property ownership?
- What funeral arrangements are appropriate?
If you have not made any provisions for the distribution of your estate before you die, your estate would be distributed according to your state’s “intestate succession” statutes, which provide for the distribution of your estate to your spouse and relatives in an order established by your state’s law. So the question is not whether you will have an estate plan, but whether you will have an estate plan of your own selection or one imposed upon you by law.