This weekend Lake County News published
an interesting story noting how many community members spend more time
planning their summer vacation than their inheritance and long-term issues.
Think about it: how many different contingencies are accounted for when heading
away from home for a one to two week trip? Pet sitters are hired, mail is
paused, email auto-responders are set-up, plants are moved inside and friends
are asked to water them, doors are locked, and a spare key is left
in case of emergency. We take these steps just in case, so that we can enjoy our
time away with the peace of mind that everything back home can be dealt with in
most situations.
In many ways estate planning involves similar forethought--understanding possible issues down the road and taking steps to
account for those contingencies. Yet, vacation planning is done instinctively,
while estate plans are
often delayed or ignore due to either procrastination or apprehension of one's mortality. It is easy to procrastinate on these sorts of issues without
immediate compulsion. Summer vacation planning has to be done by a known date.
Estate planning is not that easy, because no one knows for sure how much time
they have or if they may need long-term care. The indefinite future
makes it easier to procrastinate. Yet, planning is vastly more effective when conducted before emergency
necessitates it. You will also get the peace of mind that comes with
knowing inheritance and plans are in place.
Many also put off the planning because they assume that the planning is
complex and time-consuming. Planning will be done when they finally "have time"
for it. There will likely never be a time when you want to do your estate plan; instead
one simply has to make time to do things that matter. But beyond that, the planning itself does not necessarily have to be as
complex or time-consuming as one imagines. After all, the whole point of having
professional help with these issues is to hand of the work to those who deal
with these matters day in and day out. In most cases, a legal professional will
explain how a trust or will can be created and
how to put other documents into place, including a Power of Attorney and Health Care
Proxy. Even if nothing more complex is required, having these few pieces in
place can make all the difference in case something happens unexpectedly.
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