Estate Planning Lawyer

There are two primary reasons white individuals who understand the importance of estate planning delay the effort of actually executing an estate plan of their own. One primary reason is that they are young and childless and therefore are under the impression that they do not need an estate plan. The other primary reason is that they have not acquired luxury property or any truly complex financial assets, so regardless of their age, they are under the impression that they do not need an estate plan.

It is Important to understand that you need to have an estate plan in place if you are an adult in America. Regardless of your income level, regardless of how much wealth you do or do not possess, and regardless of your parental status, you need to have an updated estate plan in place at all times.

Thinking About Property

As an experienced estate planning lawyer – including those who practice at Kaplan Law Practice, LLC– can confirm, your assets will be distributed according to state law if you die without a will in place. If you don’t want the government dictating who will receive your sentimental and valuable property, you need an updated will in place at all times. In that will, you’ll want to engage in some digital estate planning so that any aspect of your online or electronic footprint that you want to be managed in a certain way in the event of your death is handled in accordance with your wishes as well.

Thinking About Injuries and Illnesses

When most people think about estate planning, they think about distribution of property in the event of someone’s death. While it is true that creating a will is the bedrock of estate planning, and creating a will involves the distribution of assets upon someone’s death, this is not the only estate planning tool that adults need to have in place at all times.

In fact, some adults may not need to have a will in place if they do not own any sentimental possessions, they are unconcerned with how their digital footprint will be managed in the event of their death, and they have not acquired much wealth. But, every adult needs to have both in advanced health care directive and a power of attorney designation in place regardless of these other realities.

An advanced healthcare directive will allow you to communicate your preferences about medical care in the event that you were incapacitated by a serious accident or a serious illness and are no longer in a position to communicate your needs and preferences on your own. A power of attorney designation will allow you to name someone to make financial, medical, business, and practical decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. You can name one person as a power of attorney to make all of these kinds of decisions, or you can name many people to make different kinds of decisions on your behalf. Note that your medical power of attorney will only make decisions in the event that a specific concern is not explicitly communicated in your advanced healthcare directive.