Did you know that having an estate plan is not the norm in the United States? You could argue that it should be, since everyone will eventually pass away. But statistics show that only around a third of Americans have actually written an estate plan.
If you’re in this group, along with so many others, it’s important to think of the downsides of failing to make a plan in advance. Below are a few examples to start with.
Lack of medical direction
For one thing, you can use a power of attorney in your estate plan to give someone else the ability to make medical decisions if you become incapacitated. You could also use a living will to make some of those medical decisions on your own. Failing to do so means that your family will have a lack of direction if you’re unable to make decisions in real time.
Greater odds of disputes
Another issue is that your family may be more likely to get involved in estate disputes. Your beneficiaries have no plan telling them how you want them to divide assets or split up family heirlooms. Odds are that they will not agree on all these details, leading to conflict.
Missing other estate planning tools
Finally, failing to make an estate plan means that you give up access to valuable tools that may be beneficial. For instance, you can use a trust to reduce the value of your estate, which can sometimes have positive tax implications. You can also use a trust to set aside assets for an heir who has special needs. Without an estate plan, neither thing is possible.
These are just a few areas to consider, but they help to show how important estate planning is and why you need to look into all of your legal options.