Blogger sets out to identify why young Americans don’t have estate plans and offers immediate solutions.
Am I in denial? The last several years have taken a toll on everyone, yet many are in denial about one subject: Estate Planning. After witnessing one of the most extreme plandemics in history, individuals are failing in massive numbers to counter plan. 67% of the thousands of individuals surveyed, said they have not made any plans for the worst case scenario and have completely disregarded the need for an estate plan, despite Covid 19 having raised American's awareness of the need to have a will, living trust or living will, and the powers usually associated with estate plans. Only about a third of those surveyed had an estate plan, and most of these respondents were senior citizens planning for their eventual death. Why do younger American's like myself ignore the truth that estate plans are critical? I decided to find out.
According to 40% of respondents, the biggest reason given was they just haven't gotten around to it, 33% said they don't have enough assets to bother, and 13% said the estate planning process is too costly, while 12% said they don't know where to begin. After interviewing several attorneys in Colorado about what they thought was the cause, 86% concluded client's didn't understand the value of estate planning beyond death planning. Estate Planning Attorney Grant Van Der Jagt said, "Most young individuals don't know the value of estate planning and those that do, don't expect their assets to appreciate enough in the long term to justify having a plan today because they believe the process is too difficult and expensive." But therein lies the fallacy. If they knew the value of an estate plan today, maybe they would see how they could more efficiently build wealth for the future. The survey found that those who recently experienced a serious case of Covid were 66% more likely to engage with an estate planning attorney, than those who have not, according to Caring.com. And 41% of people age 18-34 saw a greater need for a will or other document after the pandemic. With all of these thoughts on estate planning, however, only 48% of those surveyed that had experienced severe covid had an estate plan in place. "Even with the big scare of potential impending death, people still don't run out and take care this kind of critical business", Mr. Van Der Jagt said, "They are in denial, and usually because they are misinformed."
Those who don't have an estate plan are often misinformed. It is important to understand that adults of any age or asset level can benefit from writing down a contingency plan for their families and futures because the creation of the plan requires them to think about their goals and alternatives. This exercise leads to focus and highlights areas of concern, such as asset protection, health care expenses, look back periods, tax planning, leaving a legacy and very important, what values they want to leave to their children. Having focus shores up liability and increases profitability. You do not need to have lots of assets to benefit from having an estate plan, in fact, having an estate plan can help you have lots of assets. Young adults stand to benefit the most from an estate plan over their lifetime, especially because they can create an early relationship with an attorney. Companies like www.Lifetime.Estate create custom and comprehensive estate plans for people which are guaranteed for life at a very affordable flat fee price, and then they continue to offer estate planning assistance for the duration of the client's lifetime, as well as "after care" to help heirs handle the estate after the client's death. Companies like this have created easy and inexpensive solutions, while making the attorneys available to the client for future needs too. Often these initial consultations result in collateral business plan improvements. For example, Mr. Van Der Jagt described a scenario in which a client suggested accounting for crypto investments in one way, and upon review, learned that accounting another way would save on taxes. That tip alone saved the client more money than the cost of the estate plan.
Despite knowing of the risks, the majority of Americans continue to defy their own knowledge about estate plans being critically important to have now, rationalizing their lack of commitment to start a plan with exaggerated hyperbole about how difficult and expensive the process is. The average estate plan created by www.Lifetime.Estate takes less than an hour to complete, and can instantly save the client money by discussing their current affairs with an attorney who can readily offer advice to reduce risk and increase profits. If more people knew how easy creating an estate planning attorney-client relationship was, would they take action? Hopefully, this article helps empower people to take action, reduce risk, plan for the future and establish a lasting relationship with an estate planning attorney. The attorneys at www.Lifetime.Estate can create an estate plan for anyone in the world.
While many people try to solve their estate concerns themselves using online forms or financial planners, it is important to recognize the problems with not having an attorney involved. Many forms are not valid in every state nor for many circumstances. It is generally not recommended to start this process without first consulting with a licensed attorney. 30-minute consultations with attorneys at Starzynski Van Der Jagt P.C. are free (866-463-2946).
